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Pakistan's newly-elected parliament begins; 329 members take oath

Lahore - The elections of the new speaker and his deputy will be held on August 15.

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The maiden session of Pakistan's newly-elected Parliament began on Monday with the outgoing speaker administering the oath to 329 members as part of the process of transition and handing over powers to the new government.
Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of the previous National Assembly, presided over the 15th Parliament's session and administered the oath to the new leaders in the 342-member lower house. The new members signed their presence in a register.

President Mamnoon Hussain had summoned the maiden session of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, at 10 am in parliament house today, 19 days after Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party emerged as the single largest in the general elections.
Prime Minister-in-waiting and PTI chairman Khan and other prominent leaders including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari were present in the assembly for the oath-taking.

The speaker announced that elections of the new speaker and his deputy will be held on August 15.
The PTI has nominated Asad Qaisar for speaker, while opposition has named Syed Khurshid Shah of the PPP as the joint opposition candidate for the post.
Earlier, the maiden session started with the National Anthem, followed by the recitation from the Holy Quran.

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- PTI (@PTIofficial) August 13, 2018

Khan looked prominent as he sat in the front row of the parliament house close to the chair of the leader of the house, which he is eventually expected to take after the formal election as Prime Minister. 

Oath taking ceremony of parliament members at National Assembly Pakistan (13.08.18)#PrimeMinisterImranKhan pic.twitter.com/XnyPZwAN4e
- PTI (@PTIofficial) August 13, 2018

The PTI emerged as the single largest party with 116 seats in July 25 elections. Its number increased to 125 after nine independent members joined it and final tally reached 158 after it was allotted 28 out of 60 seats reserved for women and 10 seats reserved for minorities.
Party sources said that the list of the Cabinet has not been finalised but there is a general consensus that Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be the new Foreign Minister and Pervez Khattak the new Interior Minister. Asad Umar is expected to get the key post of Finance Minister.

Welcoming our first timers in assembly. The young blood of Pakistan. The eyes of an entire nation are on you. You fought the status quo, and you have changed the face of Pakistan politics. Upwards and onwards.#PrimeMinisterImranKhan pic.twitter.com/PuhYafhKzP
- PTI (@PTIofficial) August 13, 2018

Khan is expected to appoint prominent businessman Abdul Razzak Dawood as an advisor on finance. Dawood served in the Cabinet of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.
The election of the Prime Minister will be held after the election of the new Speaker who will supervise the election of the premier.
The PTI has nominated Khan for the top post and he is scheduled to take oath on August 18 at the President House.
The combined opposition has nominated Shehbaz Sharif against Khan.
The new government faces a strong opposition as the PML-N has a final tally of 82 seats, followed by the PPP with 53 and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) 15 seats. The three have joined hands and formed the combined opposition.