Pakistan's new parliament elected a speaker on March 1 despite protests from lawmakers loyal to jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan three weeks after an election they claim was brazenly rigged. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq of the military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party was elected by parliamentarians from his party and a handful of others in a coalition pact shutting Khan's followers out of power. The 336-seat National Assembly convened on February 29 for the first time since Pakistan's February 8 elections, and the alliance is slated to vote in PML-N's Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister on March 3.
Pakistani Parliament Elects Speaker As Khan's Supporters Protest
Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (file photo)