PESHAWAR – Babar Saleem Swati, endorsed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been elected as the Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Swati has also taken the oath of his office.
According to details, Acting Speaker Mushtaq Ghani announced the results upon completion of the voting process for the provincial speaker. He informed that a total of 106 votes were cast overall and all votes were valid.
Among them, the PTI-backed candidate secured 89 votes, while the Pakistan Peoples Party’s nominee, Ehsanullah, managed to secure only 17 votes. Subsequently, Acting Speaker Mushtaq Ghani administered the oath of office to the newly-elected Speaker of the Assembly, Babar Salim Swati.
It is worth mentioning that the inaugural session of the new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, presided over by Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, commenced yesterday. The assembly commenced with the recitation of Fateha for the martyrs and prayers for those who lost their lives in the war against terrorism. Following this, the newly-elected members of the assembly took their oaths. Speaker Mushtaq Ghani also took oaths from the members of the assembly.
According to the reports, the first session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly faced delays due to extreme rush, which caused difficulties for members to reach the assembly premises. The assembly hall has a capacity of 300 visitors, and over 1800 visitor cards were issued.
PTI workers created chaos at the assembly hall entrance, leading to the use of force to control the situation. The bells were rung to welcome the members.
It has been revealed that un-elected member Sobia Shahid of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reached the assembly hall and stood on the assembly floor.
The PTI workers raised slogans against Sobia Shahid, throwing paper and litter at her.
Sobia Shahid retaliated by waving the paper and raising her wristwatch. She placed the watch on the Chief Minister’s chair and sat down. The assembly staff removed the watch from the Chief Minister’s chair and prevented Sobia Shahid from sitting there.
Afterward, Sobia Shahid took her seat in the assembly. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly remained chaotic, with workers continuing their uproar and slogans, prompting Speaker Mushtaq Ghani to instruct everyone to maintain silence in the assembly hall.
