Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Saturday took oath as the 22nd speaker of the National Assembly (NA), a day after he was elected unopposed.
Ayaz Sadiq, a member of the Panel of Chairpersons, administered the oath to Ashraf. While administering the oath, Sadiq forgot the text, however, Ashraf continued reading the correct text.
In his maiden address, Ashraf thanked Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with other parliamentarians, for electing him unopposed.
"Increasing the esteem and respect of this house is my aspiration and first priority," Speaker Ashraf said, adding that it was his duty to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution of Pakistan.
He added that the position demands "complete impartiality" and tolerance, “it is my responsibility to ensure the protection of rights of the house members”.
The speaker stated that the assembly had been "incomplete" as the former opposition was ignored. "It is my duty to not let the voice of the opposition be suppressed," he added.
He narrated that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the first NA speaker and elected unopposed.
"While Quaid-e-Azam's address is Pakistan's first official and national constitutional statement, it also affirms the central role of the legislature in the state," Ashraf said.
He also mentioned that this was the first time in the country’s history that a former premier was chairing the lower house.
The NA session was initially chaired by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sadiq, which included the voting on the no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. However, Sadiq announced that Suri had tendered his resignation prior to the session.
The speaker's office was vacant following the resignation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Asad Qaiser prior to the vote on the no-confidence resolution against former PM Imran Khan.
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During the session, Sadiq pointed out that the resignations received by the speaker were not handwritten, which was against the rules, and they had not been confirmed individually either.
On this, Speaker Ashraf instructed the NA Secretariat to de-seal the resignations of the PTI lawmakers and hand them over to him so he could see to them in accordance with the law and the Constitution of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the opposition benches largely remained empty with only two members of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and a few dissenting PTI members remaining in the house.
A large number of the PPP workers, especially from Gujjar Khan, were present in the general galleries of the assembly.
At the beginning, the chaos in Punjab Assembly was reported to the speaker, after which the interest of the members waned and they started leaving the house.
By the time the sitting ended, only five members remained in the lower house.
Since there was no opposition in the house, nobody pointed out the quorum. Moreover, there was no member left in the house to congratulate the newly elected speaker.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Murtaza Javed Abbasi moved a motion to set up a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms. While the speaker sought the opinion of members for approval, only five members present on the occasion green-lighted it.
Further, the NA session unanimously passed a resolution to posthumously award philanthropist Begum Bilquis Bano Edhi the highest civilian award – Nishan-e-Pakistan – owing to her “unparalleled services to the country and its people”.
The house expressed its "deep grief" over the passing of the Karachi-based philanthropist, "whose incomparable services and selfless devotion to the downtrodden and disenfranchised have served and continue to serve as an inspiration for the world”.
The assembly acknowledged that philanthropists such as Bilquis were a "blessing" and her efforts managed to save over 16,000 orphans.
The session also held prayers for the elevation of the ranks of Palestinians martyred by Israeli troops in Jerusalem.
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