PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani administered oath to newly-elected members of assembly in tumultuous session. Speaker began session with prayers for those who laid down their lives.

Speaker Ghani directed candidates to submit nomination papers for offices of Speaker and Deputy Speaker by 5pm and voting for key offices of assembly will be held today.

Originally scheduled to be held at 11am, oath-taking ceremony faced delay owing to chaos caused allegedly by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates and tardy arrival of some members.

Ali Amin Gandapur, PTI nominee for Chief Minister’s position, reached KP Assembly for oath-taking session. Earlier, PTI held parliamentary session prior to scheduled oath-taking ceremony.  PTI has nominated Babar Saleem Swati for office of KP Assembly Speaker and Surriya Bibi, elected from Chitral, for Deputy Speaker’s role.

Oath-taking proceedings were held amid chaotic scenes on floor of House, with disruptions caused by PTI candidates and late arrivals. To maintain order, internet services in and around the KP Assembly were partially suspended.

 As Sobia Khan of PML-N brandished watch-which was symbolic of PTI founder’s alleged involvement in Toshakhana scam, some irate PTI members clapped back by hurling lota (ewer), an empty bottle and ballpoint at her. This was followed by sloganeering which marred proceedings.

Visitors to assembly also faced great deal of inconvenience as administration reportedly issued more than 1,000 passes. Situation prompted security officials to close main gate.  145-member KP Assembly consists of 115 general seats.

There are 26 seats reserved for women and eight for minorities. PTI-backed candidates won 86 seats in general election held on February 8. JUI-F bagged seven seats, PML-N five, PPP four, PTI-Parliamentary two and ANP one.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 29 2024

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