Media and other people gathered outside Parliament House to cover the 1st session of 14th National Assembly of Pakistan on Friday. EXPRESS TRIBUNE PHOTO/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
The oath was administered by the outgoing speaker of the National Assembly Fehmida Mirza.
The election for the slot of speaker and deputy speaker will be held on June 3, 2013, the outgoing speaker said.
The nomination applications for the slots can be filed until June 2, 2013.
Arif Alvi of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) coming to attend the 1st session of 14th National Assembly on Friday. EXPRESS TRIBUNE PHOTO/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
With a simple majority in the 342-member National Assembly, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will take on the helm of affairs at a time when Pakistan is facing myriad problems from militancy to a shaky economy, worsening power crisis and failing public education and healthcare systems.
PML-N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif arrives to attend the 1st session of 14th National Assembly on Friday. EXPRESS TRIBUNE PHOTO/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
Unlike its predecessors, PML-N has secured a simple majority contrary to pre-poll projections and is going to be in a far more comfortable position than the outgoing Pakistan Peoples Party-led government, which had to deal with diverse, and demanding, coalition partners.
The National Assembly will also be occupied by around 190 first time MNAs and will witness the return of some veteran politicians, particularly some disgruntled Baloch leaders who were not a part of the system during the previous five years.
Maulana Muhammad Gohar Shah of Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) is coming to attend the 1st session of 14th National Assembly on Friday. EXPRESS TRIBUNE PHOTO/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, former railways minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, former premier Mir Zafarullah Jamali and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia leader Ijazul Haq are to name a few who have made a comeback in the National Assembly.
Chaudhry Hamid Hameed of PML-N is being welcomed by the supporters on his arrival to attend the 1st session of 14th National Assembly on Friday. EXPRESS TRIBUNE PHOTO/MUHAMMAD JAVAID
Following the oath taking ceremony, there was a roll signing ceremony and the session was then adjourned for Monday.
On June 4, nomination papers for the election of the new prime minister will be filed, which will likely culminate in the new premier taking oath on June 5.
Radio Pakistan reported that PML-N has nominated Ayaz Sadiq as the Speaker for the National Assembly and Murtaza Javed as the Deputy Speaker. They will face a parliamentary election on Monday.
"I thank Allah who gave our nation an opportunity to bring a new government through elections," Sharif told reporters at Islamabad airport where he arrived from his home town Lahore. Sharif was on Saturday nominated by his party as the Leader of the House in the National Assembly.
"It is a good development that a peaceful democratic transition is taking place today. There could not be a better way to change a government through ballot. I congratulate the nation over it."
Pakistan's 65-year history has been punctuated by three periods of military rule. The country achieved its democratic milestone by completing its full five-year term under a coalition government led by the Pakistan People's Party.
But the PPP was routed at the polls, blamed by voters for five years of apathy and drift which saw crippling power shortages worsen and militancy continue almost unabated.
PML-N leaders said they work with the opposition to take on the various problems confronting the country.
"We will closely coordinate with the opposition parties to tackle the enormous problems facing our country," senior PML-N figure and newly elected MP Ahsan Iqbal told reporters.
Missing members
Even though the inaugural session, when the oath was administered, some faces were absent at the celebratory occasion. These included upto ten elected MNAs.
Foremost in those absent were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Other prominent absentees included PTI vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is facing re-polling in Thar. Another notable face missing was Jamshed Dasti.
COMMENTS (15)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Congratulations to ALL Pakistanis for having first-ever democtratic transition in Pakistan, albeit after 66 years of its creation. Now Pakistan stands in the league of civilised countries and those looking down at Pakistan as a banana republic will bite the dust.
The credit for this historic moment goes to Mian Nawaz Sharif for not siding with any conspiracy against elected government and then the credit goes to the independent judiciary for explicitly declaring that any unconstitutional step will never be endorsed!
I voted for PTI, but have to admit that their 'tsunami' rhetoric was hit for consecutive sixes by the tiger. His comeback is the stuff of dreams, but I hope he does deliver as PM - no more excuses will work now since they can call virtually all the shots without any opposition's meddling.
This is not the first democratic tradition. This is as a matter of fact the last. Hereafter democracy finishes and whimsical elected dictatorship starts.
@Ch. Allah Daad: Who was the Health Minister in last term? Once asked SS," How many ministries do you hold?". He did not know exactly. He marketed only Metro Bus plus Laptop (Ready-made Menu).
PM from Lahore, CM from Lahore & now NA speaker from Lahore. PMLN taking the meaning of Takht-e-Lahore to a whole new level. I am beyond confused why people outside Lahore voted for them but then again we all know elections were heavily rigged...esp in Punjab according to FAFEN even more so than in Karachi/Balochistan.
great choice the man clean bowled IK
We are thankful to Allah S.W.T. for giving PML-N a clean sweep to make its government without any need to cobble coalitions of opportunists, unlike PPP in the previous regime and PTI century in KPK.
Have you seen the elected people coming to the National & provincial assemblies with love from Pakistan. They have made lot of promises with poor & middle class of Pakitan. Almost all of them came in new models of cars, 4 wheel. They came in vehicles with black tinted glasses with a big board of "MPA" on front & back side. Do we expect them to really serve Pakistani public & serve the nation? :)
Nawaz Sharif's return to assembly is probably one of the greatest comebacks in worlds political history. What a fighter. What a statesman! he left this assembly as a Pm, returns as a PM. Unbelievable! 14 yrs ago, khan & musharraf joined hands against mian sahab. 14 yrs on, mushy in jail. Imran on bed. Zindabad!
@Muhammad Akram: You forgot how Mian Shehbaz Sharif fought with dengue epidemic and saved thousands of lives. Wait few more days, he will fight this disease too.. Measles spread because he was busy eradicating a disease which spread in elite areas.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/557429/first-democratic-transition-national-assembly-members-sworn-in/
Congratulations to my co-citizens for the first Session of the New Parliament which will have its Chairman's elections on the 3rd of June. Pakistani Parliament is the first among all member States of the Organization of the Islamic Countries (OIC) which had its first Chairman of the Parliament (ad-interim) a representative of the Untouchables Shri Joginder Nath Mandal and then the first law Minister. When Founder of the National Muhammad Ali Jinnah sworn in as first Governer General of East Pakistan and West Pakistan Joginder Nath Mandal, representative of the religious minorities of the country, was Chairman of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Congratulations also to all the political parties present in the Parliament who have an important and not a simple task with such a heritage from the Founder of the Nation.
When is main sahibs speech. Good luck to him! I hope he talks about bullet train and plans on giving loans to youth. But if he only talks about the bullet train...then thats ok too!
Metro buses are now loaded with the corpses of children caused by measles. "Saviour" is returning.