- Pakistan witnessed its third consecutive democratic transition on Monday in an orderly fashion
- The elections for speaker and deputy speaker of the House will be held on Wednesday
ISLAMABAD: The inaugural session of Pakistan’s new National Assembly was held Monday at the Parliament House in Islamabad, marking the county’s third consecutive democratic transition.
The simple but graceful ceremony commenced with the national anthem, followed by recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an.
The outgoing Speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, administered the oath to the newly elected members in a brief ceremony.
He also read out the procedure for the election of the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, to be held on Wednesday. The nomination papers for these slots can be submitted to the National Assembly Secretariat by 12 noon tomorrow.
All those who took the oath individually signed the roll in alphabetical order to be the members of the house. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari was the first one to sign the roll, reported Radio Pakistan.
Prominent among the oath takers were Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan; President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Mian Shahbaz Sharif; PPP Co-Chairperson and former President Asif Ali Zardari; and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The new National Assembly will also elect the leader of the House, who will be sworn in on Aug. 18.
The PTI claims to enjoy the backing of 180 lawmakers in the 342-seat assembly. PTI chief Imran Khan needs 172 votes to become the new prime minister.
He will be challenged by PML-N president Sharif, who is fielded as the joint opposition’s candidate for the slot.
The country’s new National Assembly came into being a day ahead of Pakistan’s Independence Day on Aug. 14, celebrations for which are already in full swing with a firework show later on Monday to mark the eve of the big day.