Karachi
\nMembers of the Sindh Assembly through a secret ballot on Sunday elected PPP\u2019s Owais Qadir Shah and Anthony Naveed as speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.
\nOut of a total of 147 votes cast on Sunday, Shah secured 111 votes while MQM-P\u2019s Sofia Shah clinched 36. Meanwhile, Naveed also secured 111 votes while MQM-P\u2019s Advocate Rashid Khan won 36.
\nThe development comes a day after as many as 147 legislators-elect of the PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) were sworn in as members of the 16th provincial assembly.
\nOutgoing Sindh Assembly speaker, Agha Siraj Durrani, administered the oath to 111 PPP members and 36 from the MQM-P on Saturday. Notably absent were nine PTI-backed independent candidates, three from the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and two from Jamaat-i-Islami, all protesting the election outcome.
\nToday\u2019s session, which was scheduled to begin at 11am, began with a delay of 18 minutes with outgoing speaker Durrani in the chair. Following the recitation of the Holy Quran, the nine PTI-backed MPAs-elect \u2014 who had not taken their oath on Saturday \u2014 were sworn in.
\nJamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Muhammad Farooq was also sworn in alongside the PTI-backed independents. Meanwhile, JI Karachi chief Haafiz Naeemur Rehman did not attend today\u2019s session.
\nAs the polling process for electing the speaker commenced, PTI-backed MPAs chanted slogans against alleged poll rigging and refused to participate in the voting. PTI-backed Bilal Khan Jatoi called the process a \u201cfraudulent election\u201d.
\nThe lawmakers also shouted \u201clota lota\u201d (turncoats) when Ijaz Swati was called to cast his vote. It must be noted that Swati, who contested and won the elections as a PTI-backed independent, had switched sides and joined the PPP.
\nAfter being announced as the winner for the election of the speaker, slogans of \u2018long live Bhutto\u2019 reverberated in the hall as Shah walked up to the dais and took his oath of office in Sindhi.
\nIn his remarks, Shah affirmed that he would fulfil his duties without any bias, promising that every single person in the House would be given due time to express their views.
\n\u201cLong live democracy,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a constitutional position [\u2026] I will move forward with all the members together,\u201d Shah said, urging all the lawmakers to \u201cbegin a fresh start\u201d.
\n\u201cMy only request is that if we follow the rule book, then God willing this House will function in the best way possible,\u201d he added, expressing the hope that the it would meet the expectations of the public. He also thanked the PPP leadership and the people of Sindh for giving his party a \u201clandslide victory\u201d in the province.
\nSubsequently, the newly elected speaker said that the election of the provincial chief minister would take place tomorrow (Monday) at 2pm.
\n\u201cA candidate may withdraw his candidature at any time before the commencement of the election by submitting an application in writing under his hand to the speaker,\u201d Shah added.
\nIt should be noted that the PPP has fielded Murad Ali Shah for Sindh chief minister while the MQM-P\u2019s nominee is Ali Khursheedi.
\nShortly after, the election for the deputy speaker was held, which saw PPP\u2019s Naveed emerging victorious. Naveed, who was felicitated by members of the House on his win, took his oath of office in Urdu and then proceeded to embrace and shake hands with Shah as pro-Bhutto slogans again rang out in the hall.
\nOnce the elections were wrapped, PPP\u2019s Murad Ali Shah congratulated the new speaker and deputy speaker. At the same time, he also sang the praises of Durrani, saying that he had served as speaker for 10 years.
\nHe noted that despite being arrested and put in jail, Durrani continued to fulfil his responsibilities. \u201cNowhere else will you find this. Only PPP and its members can do this,\u201d Murad said.
\nMurad also pointed out that Durrani had the \u201cunique distinction\u201d of being speaker of the house just like his father.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi Members of the Sindh Assembly through a secret ballot on Sunday elected PPP\u2019s Owais Qadir Shah and Anthony Naveed as speaker and deputy speaker, respectively. Out of a total of 147 votes cast on Sunday, Shah secured 111 votes while MQM-P\u2019s Sofia Shah clinched 36. Meanwhile, Naveed also secured 111 votes while MQM-P\u2019s Advocate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-389536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n