ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly convened for the first time on Thursday, three weeks after the general elections, and was greeted by boisterous demonstrations from both sides of the aisle as 302 legislators took the oath of office.
At 11:14 a.m., the session began with Pervaiz Ashraf, the departing speaker, in the chair. Leader of the PTI Amir Dogar first led a group of MPs holding photos and donning Imran Khan-style facemasks into the chamber to demand the release of the PTI founder. For more than an hour, they swarmed the speaker’s dais and yelled slogans, which prompted the PML-N and PPP MPs to retaliate by doing the same.
Slogans such as “release Imran Khan,” “prisoner number 804,” “who will save Pakistan: Imran Khan, Imran Khan,” and “fake mandate and thieves are not accepted” were being chanted by PTI MNAs. In contrast, leaders of the PML-N waved a wristwatch, alluding to the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan.
Unrest also affected the journalist gallery, as a few PTI supporters were able to enter covertly and yell anti-Nawaz and anti-Shehbaz slogans.
However, the assembly officials escorted them out of the hall. Slogan-wrangling political party members were also present in the VIP gallery.
In a same vein, a PML-N sympathiser who was allegedly the son of a Murree-based PML-N leader who passed away was observed yelling anti-PTI statements. On the allegation of PTI MNAs seated in the front row, he was kicked out of the parliament.
Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari was seated in the VIP gallery as PPP leaders Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari entered the house separately.
Asif Zardari was met with jeers from the PTI supporters who called him “Mr 10%” as he entered the hall. In response, the PPP supporters said, “Aik Zardari sab pay bhari.”
Similarly, people seated on the Treasury benches greeted Nawaz Sharif and PM-designate Shehbaz Sharif warmly when they arrived at the house together. The PTI supporters also greeted them with shouts.
Affirmations and signatures
The legislators were requested to sign the roll of members, a register that freshly elected parliamentarians are required to sign following the administration of the oath. Ayaz Sadiq of the PML-N, who is running for speaker, was the first to sign his name.
The PTI legislators’ protest around the speaker’s dais made it challenging for former president Zardari to get up to the podium. Nonetheless, PPP lawmakers created a human barrier around him to make it easier for him to sign.
The PML-N MPs used the same strategy to protect Nawaz and Shehbaz from the demonstration, and they were led to the speaker’s dais to complete the necessary formalities. This time, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also made up to the VIP gallery to see the MNA take an oath of office. She encountered slogans as well.
When former PTI leader Aleem Khan showed up to sign his membership roster, the demonstrators referred to him as a turncoat.
Almost all PTI parliamentarians, on the other hand, yelled pro-Imran Khan slogans before signing their names. They proceeded to the speaker’s dais, lifted Mr. Khan’s portrait, and then signed their names.
Following the signatures, Speaker Ashraf gave Omar Ayub the opportunity to speak. He expressed his displeasure that numerous PTI leaders and returning candidates were still in jail and had not been presented at the NA session.
He said, “One of our female leaders, Aliya Hamza, is currently in prison. She lost the election to Hamza Shehbaz.
Barrister Gohar Ali, the leader of the PTI, claimed that although Forms-45 showed his party had won 180 seats, its mandate had been stolen.
He claimed that a “incomplete” house was ineligible to vote for the speaker and deputy speaker under Article 51.
He claimed that 23 seats, including 20 seats designated for women and three seats designated for non-Muslims, had been taken away from the Sunni Ittehad Council.
The speaker also gave PML-N leader Khawaja Asif permission to address the house on the floor, but he was cut off from speaking by the opposition’s yelling.
MNA supported by PTI During the speech, Jamshed Dasti used “abusive language.”
Khawaja Asif responded by taking off his watch and showing it off to mock his rivals in a jab at the Toshakhana case. Amir Dogar, who was backed by the PTI, informed those seated in the VIP gallery that the opposition will not permit the government to pass any laws during its tenure.
Election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker
The election of the speaker and deputy speaker is scheduled for today, Friday, at 10 a.m.; the election for prime minister is scheduled for Sunday, according to a notification from the National Assembly.
The associated parties are running Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq jointly for the positions of deputy speaker and speaker, respectively.
Amir Dogar, a legislator supported by the PTI, is running jointly for the position of NA speaker, while Junaid Akbar is running for the deputy speaker position.
It’s interesting to note that after assuming office as an MNA, PPP chief Yousuf Raza Gilani lost his Senate seat. A legislator is not permitted to hold two positions at once.
It was previously anticipated that Mr. Gilani would be the coalition’s joint candidate for Senate chairman, however he ceased to be a senator after taking the oath of office as an MNA.
Previous reports from PPP sources stated that Mr. Gilani would run for chairman of the party after being elected to the Senate in the anticipated March election.
The coalition’s composition
Eight political parties make up the possible ruling coalition: the PML-N, which has 108 seats, the PPP, which has 68 seats, the MQM-Pakistan, which has 22 seats, the PML-Q, which has four seats, the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party, which has four seats, the Balochistan Awami Party, the PML-Zia, and the National Party, which each has one seat.
Thus far, the coalition has secured 209 seats in total. Recall that in March 2023, Ijazul Haq, a member of the PML-Z, joined the PTI.
There are five political parties in the united opposition. There are 91 seats in the Sunni Ittehad Council, 8 seats in JUI-F, 1 seat each in Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen, Balochistan National Party, and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. Currently, there are 104 people in the opposition overall.
