The democratic process in the country took a fresh start as 325 newly elected members of the new National Assembly (NA) met for their maiden session on Monday, amid controversy over which version of the Constitution (pre- or post-November 3), they were taking oath under.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) member Syed Naveed Qamar, prior to the oath-taking, sought clarification from the chair on whether the members assembled would be administered oath under the 1973 Constitution. Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain said that the newly elected members would take oath under the third Schedule of the 1973 Constitution, which was the same in both constitutions. “Oath in the third schedule is [the] same for the president, the prime minister, chairman Senate, speaker NA, ministers and the members,” he said.
However, during the oath-taking, in which the newly elected members pledged to “protect and uphold the Constitution”, members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) said the words “pre-November 3” twice before the word “Constitution”.
Of the 330 members notified to take oath, 325 were present and signed the rolls of members in alphabetical order. Shah Jahan Yousaf was the 326th person to take oath near the end of the dayÂ’s session after the Supreme Court vacated a stay against the notification of the results from his constituency, NA-20.
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