RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The elections for speaker and deputy speaker of National Assembly will be held today (Wednesday) as deadline to submit nomination papers for the slots ended on Tuesday.

Former Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Asad Qaiser submitted his nomination papers for National Assembly speaker from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, while Pakistan Peoples Party’s Khursheed Shah submitted his details from the joint opposition.

On the other hand, nomination papers for the slot of deputy speaker were submitted by Qasim Suri from PTI and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl’s Asad Mehmood – the son of JUI-F leader Maulana fazlur Rehman – will be the candidate of joint opposition alliance.

The National Assembly session marked the third consecutive democratic transition of power in Pakistan. Outgoing NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq administered oath to the newly-elected members. This was followed by signing of the ‘Roll of Members’.

A total of 326 MNAs took the oath, with five more yet to take oath.

PTI chairman Imran Khan, who is set to become the country’s next prime minister, was among those sworn in, along with other prominent leaders including PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Zardari, and PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif.