GILGIT: Newly elected members of the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Assembly were sworn in on Monday by outgoing Speaker Nazir Ahmed Advocate as the first session of the sixth assembly commenced in Gilgit.w
A total of 30 members took the oath during the session, including 21 lawmakers elected on general seats, six women members on reserved seats and three technocrats. The results of three general constituencies are still pending due to ongoing legal and electoral proceedings.
After the oath-taking ceremony, the assembly session was adjourned until 3pm.
The session had been summoned for 9am on Monday for the swearing-in of the newly elected representatives, followed by elections for the speaker and deputy speaker positions.
In the June 7 elections, the PPP emerged as the largest party with 13 seats, while the PML-N secured nine seats and the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) won six seats. Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) and a PTI-backed independent candidate secured one seat each.
The PML-N and IPP have decided to support the PPP in the elections for the chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker. The PPP has already announced that it will form the government in GB with support from the PML-N.
PPP’s Advocate Amjad Hussain is expected to be elected as the chief minister, while Imran Nadeem is likely to become the speaker of the assembly. Meanwhile, PML-N’s Malik Kifayat is expected to take the position of deputy speaker.