ISLAMABAD: Seventeen foreign dignitaries have so far addressed parliament and witnessed its proceedings on their official visits to Pakistan since 1947.
The shah of Iran was the first one who had addressed the joint session of parliament on March 15. He again visited the National Assembly on July 3, 1962 and witnessed its proceedings.
Similarly, those dignitaries who had addressed National Assembly included Philippines president Diodas Macapagal, Indonesian president Dr Sukarno, Palestine president Yasser Arafat, French president Francois Mitterrand, Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran speakers Mehdi Karroubi and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri.
Meanwhile, those foreign dignitaries who had addressed joint session of parliament included Sri Lankan prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranayake, Turkish president Kenan Evren, Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chinese president Jiang Zemin, Queen Elizabeth II, former Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao and President Xi Jinping. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had twice addressed the joint session when he was the Turkish prime minister in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Two former Chinese heads had also addressed the Upper House of parliament.
