The 16th National Assembly (NA) on Thursday came into effect with the oath-taking of newly elected MNAs following the February 8 general elections. The oath to the newly elected MNAs was administered by Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. The house which was scheduled to take place at 10 in the morning, started after 11. The NA session started with a ruckus as soon as the national anthem ended with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed lawmakers, who have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), surrounding the speaker’s dias. The party had already announced it would protest in today’s session against the alleged rigging done in the February 8 general elections.

It was after an appeal by the speaker that the lawmakers settled down and the oath was taken by all the lawmakers. However, as soon as the oath was administered the PTI -SIC lawmakers again started chanting slogans. Strict security measures have been put in place in the Red Zone. The entry of vehicles without special cards and stickers were not allowed to enter the Parliament House premises. Following a tug-of-war with the Centre, President Dr Arif Alvi finally signed a summary, forwarded by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, to summon the National Assembly’s (NA) inaugural session today (Thursday).

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)