Pakistan News: National Assembly's Inaugural Session Witnesses Swearing-in Of Newly-Elected Lawmakers

During Parliament's maiden session, the newly-elected lawmakers were sworn in on Thursday after President Dr. Arif Alvi summoned the National Assembly.

A process was initially delayed due to differences with the caretaker government over the allocation of reserved seats for former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party-backed candidates.

Swearing-in Of Newly-Elected Lawmakers In Pakistan

The session, headed by the outgoing Speaker of the previous Parliament, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, commenced after a delay of over an hour. Amidst unruly scenes, lawmakers backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chanted slogans against alleged vote rigging in the February 8 general elections. The lawmakers officially became members of the National Assembly after signing the register roll.

Earlier, President Alvi approved a move from the caretaker parliamentary affairs ministry to summon the National Assembly's first session on February 29, citing the need for the issue of reserved seats to be resolved by the mandated date under constitutional provisions. The late-night statement also criticized the tone of the summary sent to Alvi by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, as reported by PTI.

The newly-elected National Assembly is expected to elect new speakers and a deputy speaker, with the election for the post of prime minister anticipated on Saturday. Former premier Shehbaz Sharif is poised to be elected as the new leader of the House under a post-election deal between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Independent candidates, who joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to receive the PTI's share of reserved seats, were at the center of a plea seeking allocation of these seats, which was being heard by the Election Commission of Pakistan, as reported by PTI.

The PTI, which alleged massive rigging in the elections, rejected attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning of political instability. Independent candidates, a majority backed by the PTI, won 93 National Assembly seats, followed by the PML-N with 75 seats and the PPP with 54 seats.