K-P Assembly sworn in amid chaos

Balochistan speaker Jan Jamali skips inaugural session; Achakzai administers oath to 57 MPAs

PESHAWAR:

A tumultuous atmosphere engulfed the inaugural sessions of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan assemblies on Wednesday as newly-elected members braved chaotic scenes to take their oaths of office.

Disorder reigned the K-P Assembly as each provincial assembly member (MPA) brought along dozens of guests, leading to the breach of a gate and broken windowpanes amid feeble security attempts.

The session, chaired by K-P Speaker Mushtaq Ghani and starting nearly two hours behind schedule, witnessed the swearing-in of 116 MPAs amid a rowdy assembly.

The inaugural session in K-P, overseen by Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, commenced almost two hours behind schedule. Speaker Ghani then proceeded to administer the oath to 116 MPAs.

Conversely, in the Balochistan Assembly, the responsibility of administering oaths to 57 MPAs fell upon the newly-elected representative, Zamarak Achakzai of the Awami National Party (ANP).

In the K-P Assembly, a woman legislator from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stumbled.
Sobia Shahid of the PML-N entered the assembly hall carrying a wristwatch, where she made jest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPAs, alluding to the conviction of the party founder in the Toshakhana case.

As Shahid approached the speaker’s podium, brandishing the wristwatch in her hand, PTI supporters hurled a water pot (Lota), empty bottles, and shoes at her.

Nevertheless, she seized the water pot and positioned it on the leader of the house's chair, proceeding to occupy the opposition leader's seat herself.

Meanwhile, PTI workers in the assembly gallery vociferously chanted slogans. The session, initially slated for an 11 am commencement, kicked off at 1.30 pm.

Read: Gandapur terms ‘K-P uplift’ PTI’s priority

 

Speaker Ghani called for silence in the hall and initiated the proceedings of the inaugural session.
At the outset of the session, prayers were offered for the late father of Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI nominee for the post of provincial chief minister, and the martyrs, who lost lives in the war against terrorism. Later, he administered the oath to 116 newly elected members of the assembly.

Previously, a large number of guests and PTI workers entered the assembly hall, accompanying the newly-elected MPAs. The volume was so significant that all the security arrangements designated for the inaugural session faltered.

Outside the assembly hall, security personnel had sealed all the doors to deter any rush. Consequently, dozens of MPAs had to endure a prolonged wait to enter the building.

PTI workers accessed the assembly hall by breaking the windowpanes of the kitchen. Notably, even two sons of Speaker Ghani used that route.

The newly-elected MPAs, who took oath on Wednesday, included 115 elected on the general seats and five on the reserved seats. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not yet been notified of the results of the Shangla and Torghar seats.

Following the oath-taking, Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani extended congratulations to the new members and adjourned the meeting until Thursday morning.

The assembly would now proceed to elect a new speaker and deputy speaker before the chief minister's election.

The PTI had nominated Gandapur as its candidate for the position of chief minister. Hasham Inamullah Khan of the PML-N had been proposed for the role of chief minister by other parties, anticipated to form the opposition.

Dr Abad of the PML-N has been selected as the nominee for the position of opposition leader.

The opposition parties have unanimously decided to nominate Ehsanullah Miankhel, for the post of speaker, and Arbab Waqas of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) for the post of deputy speaker.

 

Balochistan

In Quetta, 57 newly-elected Balochistan MPAs were administered the oath of office. Speaker Jan Muhammad Jamali did not attend the inaugural session and in his place, Achakzai chaired the proceedings and administered the oath.

The session took place under stringent security measures, with all roads leading to the Balochistan Assembly closed to traffic.

At the outset of the session, lawmakers offered Fateha for those who lost their lives in the Khanozai and Killa Saifullah bombings preceding the general elections.

Most of the MPAs from the PPP and the PML-N were present in the house, including Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, Mir Sadiq Umrani, Mir Zahoor Buledi, Asfandyar Khan Kakar and others. The visitors’ gallery was also jam-packed with guests and supporters of the new MPAs.

Those who were sworn in on Wednesday, included National Party (NP) chief Dr Malik Baloch, Aslam Raisani of the Jamiat ul Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Abdul Majeed Badini of the Jamaat e Islami (JI) and Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, the chief of the Haq Do Tehreek, Gwadar.

The session was adjourned until Thursday, for the election of the speaker and the deputy speaker.
PPP has nominated Ghazala Gola for the post of deputy speaker, whereas, the PML-N is likely to nominate Captain (retd) Khaliq Achakzai for the speakership.

Meanwhile, a four-party alliance, consisting of the NP, Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), and the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) staged protest demonstrations in the city against the alleged poll rigging.

“We reject these engineered elections”, Ghulam Nabi Marri of the BNP said. “Masses of Balochistan have rejected these engineered elections,” he claimed. “People of the province would not accept these elections”, added Qahar Wadan, the provincial chief of the PkMAP.