Watch | High-Drama In Pakistan As Newly-Elected Lawmakers Sworn In At First National Assembly Session

Pakistan’s newly-elected lawmakers were sworn in on Thursday during Parliament’s maiden session after several days of delay following President Arif Alvi’s refusal to summon the National Assembly due to differences over the issue of PTI-backed candidates being allotted the reserved seats.

The opening session of the Parliament began after a delay of more than an hour. Outgoing Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administered the oath to the newly-elected lawmakers amid unruly scenes as former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf:-backed lawmakers chanted slogans against alleged vote rigging in the February 8 elections.

Ruckus in Parliament

After the oath-taking, the lawmakers signed the register roll of the National Assembly to officially become members. The new oath-taking lawmakers included the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Early today, Alvi approved a move from the caretaker parliamentary affairs ministry to summon the newly-elected National Assembly’s first session on February 29, according to a statement posted by the president’s X account.

“Subject to some reservations, President Dr Arif Alvi has summoned to convene the National Assembly on February 29 in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 54(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” the statement said. It said that the president accorded his approval keeping in view “the mandate and implications of the timeline given in Article 91 (2) and subject to some reservations and expecting the resolution of the issue of the reserved seats before the 21st day [after the general elections].”

Late-night statement

The late-night statement also took issue with the tone of the summary sent to Alvi by the caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, adding that the president was calling the session as he expected that the issue of reserved seats would be settled by the 21st day after the polls, as envisaged in the law.

According to constitutional provisions, the meeting of the National Assembly must be convened within 21 days of the elections, and February 29 is the mandated date under Article 91. The newly-elected National Assembly will elect the new speaker and deputy speaker. The election for the post of prime minister is expected on Saturday, and former premier Shehbaz Sharif is poised to be elected as the new leader of the House under a post-election deal between the PML-N and the PPP.

On Monday, Alvi, a close aide of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and a former senior member of his party, rejected a move from the caretaker parliamentary affairs ministry to summon the National Assembly’s first session, maintaining that all reserved seats be allocated before its summoning.

(With agency inputs)