Pakistan's newly elected lower chamber of parliament, the National Assembly, convened its first session on February 29 where newly elected lawmakers were sworn in, three weeks after an election marred by widespread allegations of rigging.
The oath to the newly elected parliamentarians was administered by outgoing Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in the assembly hall in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
The house will elect its new speaker and deputy speaker on March 1 while the prime minister will be elected on March 4.
In the February 8 vote, candidates backed by jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was barred from running, won most seats but fell short of a simple majority needed to form a government.
Khan, 71, a retired cricket superstar who was prime minister in 2018-22, still enjoys huge popularity, but he is in prison after convictions on numerous corruption charges and has been barred from holding office for a decade.
Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote that he says was orchestrated by the powerful military, has rejected the charges as politically motivated.
The government suspended mobile phone and Internet services during the election day in many parts of the country. The Interior Ministry said that it was done to ensure security.
Lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party shouted "Vote thief!” as Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan in 2022 and is expected to again form the government, entered the parliament building on February 29.
The National Assembly of Pakistan comprises 336 members out of which 266 are elected whereas 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 seats for religious minorities.
These reserved seats are allotted to the parties as per their representation in the lower house.
Khan’s political rivals made a power-sharing deal after the election, naming Sharif as their candidate for prime minister.