LAHORE: Newly elected members of the 18th Punjab Assembly will take oath today in the constituent session of the provincial legislature.
Of the five assemblies that went to polls on February 8, the Punjab Assembly is the first house to convene its inaugural session, scheduled to be held at 10 am on Friday.
Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman has issued a notification in this regard. Chairman Sibtain Khan will administer the oath to the newly elected members.
The announcement of the assembly meeting comes a day after a parliamentary meeting of elected members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was held at Jati Umra in Lahore.
Party sources claimed that a total of 218 members attended the meeting, which included independent members and PMLN MPAs, while members nominated for specific seats were also included.
Sources said there were 137 successful PMLN candidates, 58 women nominated for specific seats and more than 22 independent members who joined the PMLN after the elections.
It is worth noting that 186 members were needed to form the government.
Among the newly elected members, Maryam Nawaz will be one of the new entrants to join the provincial legislature as an elected member. She is also nominated as the party’s chief ministerial candidate after winning both the national and provincial assemblies – NA-119 and PP-159 – in the February 8 polls.
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During the meeting on Wednesday, Maryam pledged to serve the province in a way that would “set records” in good governance in the country.
Unveiling her game plan for Punjab in a media discussion, the CM-hope said, “It will usher in a new era in Punjab. I congratulate the PML-N for securing victory [and getting a majority in the Punjab Assembly].”
If she comes to power, Maryam will become the first woman to be elected chief minister in Pakistan’s more than seven-year history. It will take over a province of more than 127 million people, more than half of Pakistan’s population.
“It was a tough election, I thank the people of Punjab for giving us a clear majority. We will set up service records; I haven’t rested since the election results, we will all have to work as a team,” she added.
Maryam, who holds the PML-N Senior Vice President and Chief Organizer portfolio, said it was a “tremendous honour” for her to be nominated as the first Chief Minister of Punjab and dedicated it to “daughters, mothers, sisters and reserved seats women”.
The CM-nominee said the province faces “fundamental challenges” in the health and education sectors as well as local government. “There is also a huge problem with sewage and clean water in rural areas.”
Maryam told the newly elected MPAs that they will have to see the 297 constituencies of Punjab as 297 constituencies to ensure development in each constituency of the legislators.
