13th NA holds maiden session today
By Uzma Zafar

ISLAMABAD—The 13th session of the National Assembly of Pakistan’s would be held today (Monday) after 27 days of February 18 elections. According to history of the country, after the first General Elections of the country held on December 7, 1970, the session of the National Assembly was held on April 14, 1972 after two years of the elections. The first session of first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was held on August 10, 1947 at Sindh Assembly Building. Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah presided over the meeting.
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was unanimously elected as the President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the National Flag was formally approved. The 12th Elections of the country was held on October 10, 2002 and after winning the elections, Pakistan Muslim League-Q with its allied parties formed the Government. The first session of that Assembly was held on November 16, 2002 while the Government of PML-Q first time in this history of the country completed its five year term and left the power on November 17, 2007.
Arrangements have been finalized for the maiden session of National Assembly as 334 members are going to take oath as MNAs on Monday.On seven out of total 342 National Assembly seats either there is litigation or the election was terminated or postponed with result culminating in a tie on one seat reserved for women from NWFP. Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain would chair the inaugural session wherein the House would constitute 225 seats, just three short of two/third majority, for the ruling coalition PPPP, PML-N and ANP.
In all, 121 members from PPPP, 91 from PML-N, 13 from ANP, 51 from PML, 25 from MQM, six from MMA, five from PML-F, 19 independent and one each from PPP-S, NPP and BNP-A are likely to take oath and sign the roll of the House. Two important political figures of the country and leaders of majority parties Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif would not be the part of the House.
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack on December 27 at Liaqatbagh and Nawaz Sharif could not contest elections, although the latter would be witnessing proceedings from the galleries. As most of the Cabinet members of the PML government had lost elections, new faces and stalwarts from the past opposition parties would be replacing them. Seats allocation, for the session of 13th National Assembly, would hopefully be made alphabetically and the names of the members for signing the roll would be called the same way.
Election for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be held through secret ballot on Wednesday (March 19) and the deadline for filing nomination papers for the offices of Speaker and Deputy Speaker has been set for Tuesday (March18) by 1200 hours. Election for the new Speaker National Assembly would be conducted by sitting Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain and the election for the Deputy Speaker would be conducted by the new Speaker.
With the election of the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker this session would culminate as for the election of Leader of the House, the session would be summoned later. Speaker National Assembly Chaudhry Amir Hussain had clarified couple of days back that MNAs-elect would take oath under the 1973 Constitution as no change has been made in the oath. National Assembly Secretariat has already issued passes to number of important political leaders as prominent politicians like Asif Ali Zardari, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Provincial Governors and Chief Ministers, Acting Chairman Senate.