The joint session of the parliament will be held today (Thursday) at the Parliament House. Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq will preside over the session.

President Asif Ali Zardari will address the joint session of the Parliament to be held at 4:00 pm. All the arrangements have been made for the session. This is the first joint session of the Parliament since constitution of the 16th National Assembly. 

The president had summoned the joint session of Parliament in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 54(1) and 56(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The chief of army staff, chairman joint chiefs of the staff committee, other services chiefs, chief justice of Pakistan, chief ministers and governors of the four provinces and ambassadors of different countries have been issued invitation.

On the other hand, opposition parties have decided to protest in today's joint session of Parliament. PTI, Sunni Ittehad Council, MWM and other political parties will participate in the protest.

According to the sources, the opposition lawmakers have been directed to ensure their attendance at the joint meeting to participate in the protest against the alleged election rigging, inflation and for supremacy of the Constitution.

Earlier addressing a gathering on the occasion of the 45th death anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, President Asif Ali Zardari assailed the bureaucracy in Islamabad, saying Pakistan was not a poor country but it had been made so by mindset of the ‘babus’ [officers] sitting in the capital.

Zardari recounted how former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had appointed him as the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, despite doubts from some friends about his leadership capabilities.

The president emphasised that Pakistan's status as a poor nation was not predetermined, adding that despite Allah's provision of abundant wealth, the nation suffered from a lack of intellect.

Zardari stressed the importance of cultivating a mindset that seeks to understand and address the country's challenges comprehensively.