PESHAWAR/QUETTA – Members-elect of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly took oath at the inaugural session in Peshawar on Wednesday. Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani administered the oath to them.
Earlier, the house offered fateha for the deceased election candidates and the martyrs of Police and security forces.
A large number of guests were present in the provincial assembly to witness the inaugural session.
Election for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be held today. Members- elect of newly elected Balochistan Assembly took oath at inaugural session of assembly in Quetta.
Zamrak Khan Achakzai who presided over the session in the absence of Speaker Jan Muhammad Jamali administered the oath to newly elected members. He announced that elections for Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be held tomorrow. The House has been adjourned to meet again today at 11:00 a.m. The halls of the KP’s legislature assembly are no strangers to commotion but Wednesday’s maiden session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly took chaos to a whole new level. Despite holding an almost absolute majority, the PTI lawmakers turned the assembly floor into a scene of rumpus, creating a peculiar atmosphere.
Typically, it’s the opposition lawmakers who stir up commotion in the assembly over certain issues. However, the maiden session was marked by unprecedented chaos in an assembly that is being dominated by the PTI lawmakers themselves, so much so that even journalists struggled to find space in the press gallery, which was filled with guests and other attendees.
Amidst the disorder, the newly elected members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly took their oaths of office, officially inaugurating the provincial assembly’s first session. Scheduled to commence at 11 am, the session faced a delay of nearly an hour due to various factors.
Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Mushtaq Ghani, led the session, beginning with prayers for the departed souls and martyrs. Subsequently, Ghani administered the oath to 115 newly elected members, setting the tone for the proceedings.
Before the session commenced, Sobia Shahid, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), made a notable entrance to the assembly hall, clutching a clock in her hand. She became the target of the PTI members, who threw bottles, and shoe at her.
Inside the assembly hall, overcrowding became a pressing issue, with authorities issuing over a thousand passes for a hall with limited capacity. This led to disorderly scenes as many attendees pushed their way into the hall, some even without proper passes. Despite efforts by the police to control the situation by closing the gates, people managed to find alternative routes to enter.
The disorder also posed challenges for media representatives, many of whom struggled to access the assembly premises. Additionally, finding parking spaces became a daunting task for many newly elected members amidst the chaos, further highlighting the unprecedented nature of the session’s inauguration. The chief minister-designate, Ali Amin Gandapur, announced the reinstatement of the Sehat Insaf Card and underscored the provincial government’s commitment to prioritising law and order.
“My foremost objective is to ensure the equitable development of all districts across the province, bridging the gap between remote areas and the rest of the region,” he added.
Gandapur acknowledged the challenges that might be posed by the coalition government at the federal level but expressed determination to advocate for the province’s rightful share of resources from the federation.
Today (Thursday) brings another significant event as the assembly gears up for the election of the speaker and deputy speaker. Speaker Mushtaq Ghani has announced that nomination papers for these positions could be submitted until 5 pm, with withdrawal allowed until midnight. Polling for these roles is scheduled for 10:00 am today.
