BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA
ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan, who was elected as the 22nd prime minister of PAKISTAN ON FRIDAY, TOOK OATH OF OFICE at a ceremony held at the presidency on Saturday.
The ceremony at the President’s House in the capital marks the end of decades of rotating leadership between the ousted Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), punctuated by periods of army rule.
President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath. First Lady Bushra Bibi, clad in her traditional burqa, also attended the CEREMONY AND SAT IN THE IRST ROW NEXT TO National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.
Nobody from the opposition parties attended the function although Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal had been invited.
Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the chiefs of naval and air force chiefs were present at the ceremony along with interim Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk, Punjab Chief Minister Dr Hasan Askari, Asad Umar, Chaudhry Sarwar, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Shireen Mazari, Jahangir Tareen, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Others in attendance were star cricketer Waseem Akram, singers Salman Ahmed and Abrarul Haq and actor Javed Sheikh.
After swearing-in, Imran reached the PRIME MINISTER’S OFICE AND WAS PRESENTED a guard of honour by a contingent of the Pakistan Army.
Imran will address the nation on radio and television on Sunday.
Imran was elected premier after securing 176 votes against Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) candidate Shahbaz Sharif’s 96 votes in an open ballot in the National Assembly. In his address to the nation, Imran will announce the programme of his government in its first 100 days. He is likely to appeal all political forces to co-operate for the greater good of Pakistan.
In the meantime, Imran appointed Azam Khan, who has previously served as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary, his principal secretary. Azam Khan is a FEDERAL OFICER OF GRADE 21.
With Imran Khan’s swearing-in, the caretaker government headed by Nasirul Mulk stood dissolved. MAY CONGRATULATES IMRAN British Prime Minister Theresa May was AMONG THE IRST WORLD LEADER TO TELEPHONE and congratulate her new counterpart.
“They agreed to work together to build on the good relations in a wide range of areas, including security co-operation, anti-corruption, and bilateral trade,” a statement issued by British Prime MinISTER’S OFICE SAID.