Pakistani police mounted tight security around the parliament yesterday ahead of President General Pervez Musharraf's first address to a joint sitting of the national assembly and senate since his 1999 coup.
Armed police posted on all roads leading to the parliament frisked people and searched vehicles in what officials described was a precaution in view of recent acts of terrorism including two failed attempts on Musharraf's life.
The opposition Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) said it would protest during the special session against the unelected president, who sought to legitimize his rule through a New Year's Day parliamentary confidence vote which he won.
Musharraf, who held legislative elections in October 2002, has summoned both houses of parliament to convene at 11:00am. He has so far avoided addressing the parliament which was inaugurated in November 2002.
It was disrupted for most of the past year by rowdy opposition protests against Musharraf and his sweeping powers.
But he is facing the new year in a strengthened position thanks to a deal with Islamist opposition parties whereby his unelected presidency was validated by a confidence vote on Jan. 1.
The deal also ratified his power to dissolve parliament, and came in return for his pledge to quit his post as army chief by the end of this year.
The deal ended a year-long battle between opposition and ruling pro-Musharraf MPs which had paralyzed the parliament.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said the opposition was expected to make some noise during the proceedings, which he termed "light music."
"We hope decent parliamentary traditions will be established in the session during the president's address," Rashid said. "However the opposition may resort to some protest but it will be merely a sort of light music."
The parliamentary groups of ARD, which is made up of Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-N of exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif respectively, had a meeting just before the session to finalize their strategy for in-house protest.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and its allies also discussed their response while the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Islamists coalition met separately.
MMA leader Liaqat Baluch said his party members would sit on the opposition benches but did not say wether they would join the planned ARD protest.
He however said the alliance was opposed to Musharraf's policy on Afghanistan and what he called the unfolding "U-turn" on the dispute over Kashmir with India.
Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee met on the sidelines of a regional summit in Islamabad earlier this month and decided to restart stalled talks on all disputes including Kashmir.
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