- Punjab lawmakers to take oath on Wednesday
PESHAWAR/KARACHI/QUETTA: As the newly elected lawmakers took oath of allegiance at the maiden National Assembly (NA) session of the new parliament, provincial lawmakers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh and Balochistan, elected during the July 25 polls, also took their oaths in their respective provincial assemblies on Monday.
During the session held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 111 MPAs took oath in the 124-member house. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA-elect Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha administered the oath to the new members of the provincial assembly.
The oath-taking was followed by members of the assembly signing the register roll.
Members of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP), who were wearing black bands on their arms, staged a symbolic walkout during the oath-taking over the terrorist violence that preceded the July 25 elections. They re-entered the assembly after the walkout and were administered the oath separately.
During the session, PPP leader Nighat Orakzai raised a point of order to express grief over the death of PTI candidate Ikramullah Gandapur.
A special information counter for the newly elected MPAs was set up where they were given necessary information by the assembly staff.
A joint meeting of the opposition took place after the oath-taking during which names were agreed on for the slots of the chief minister, opposition leader, speaker and deputy speaker.
Nomination papers for the office of the speaker and deputy speaker of KP Assembly would be submitted by treasury and opposition benches today.
The session was adjourned indefinitely.
The PTI had emerged as the single largest political party with 64 members who also took oath besides members of the opposition, minorities and women MPAs elected on reserved seats.
In the Sindh Assembly, Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani administered the oath to 164 MPAs-elect out of the total 168 in Urdu, Sindhi and English. The session was adjourned after all members signed the roll of members.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has notified the results of 127 seats as the results of two constituencies are still awaited, while the election on PS-87 (Malir-I) was not held because of the death of a contestant.
Following the oath-taking, a joint meeting of the opposition in Sindh Assembly took place during which discussion took place over the names for the prospective chief minister and speaker.
The opposition announced to support a candidate from Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for the speaker’s slot and a candidate from PTI for the opposition leader.
The oath in Balochistan was administered by Speaker Raheela Durrani to 60 incoming members of the 11th Balochistan Assembly. Four MPAs, including Mir Naseebullah Marri, took oath as a lawmaker for the first time.
The members also offered fateha for the people slain in terrorist incidents in the province in the run-up to the elections.
Sanaullah Zehri, who was elected as an MPA for the seventh time, did not turn up for the oath-taking ceremony.
The speaker adjourned the session after the oath-taking of the newly elected members.
The oathtaking in Punjab Assembly will take place on Wednesday (August 15) when the first session of the newly elected assembly will take place. Like other provinces, the oath in Punjab Assembly will also be administered by the assembly speaker.
