President Arif Alvi will address the joint sitting of parliament on October 3 which will formally mark the beginning of the final parliamentary year of the present National Assembly. National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that the lawmakers were busy in relief work in the flood-hit areas due to which the session was not called urgently. The speaker made these remarks while hosting a lunch in honour of the Parliamentary Reporters Association on Thursday. As per the tradition, the text contained progress reports submitted by ministries and departments, highlighting the performance of the government. The president was not supposed to ignore the government’s text. Article 226, Clause 3 reads: “[(3) At the commencement of the first session after each general election to the National Assembly and at the commencement of the first session of each year the president shall address both houses assembled together and inform the Majlis-e-Shura (Parliament) of the causes of its summons.