ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has been elected the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan. Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar announced the name of the Leader of the House after vote count. Imran Khan secured 176 votes while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Shehbaz Sharif bagged 96 votes in the polling for the Leader of the House in National Assembly on Friday. The MNAs supporting Imran Khan gathered in lobby A while those supporting Shahbaz Sharif in lobby B. The speaker had designated booth A as voting booth for Imran Khan and booth B as voting booth for Shahbaz Sharif in the NA. Attired in white-shalwar qameez and black waistcoat, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has also reached the parliament house. 5:30pm The polling process for electing prime minister of Pakistan has ended and the counting of the ballot is underway in the National Assembly. 5:10pm PML-N candidate for prime minister Shehbaz Sharif himself made efforts to woo PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to vote for PM slot, but failed to do so. 4:55pm Pakistan People’s Party is abstaining from voting in the process of electing the prime minister. 4:50pm Voting for prime minister of Pakistan begins in the National Assembly, being presided over by Speaker Asad Qaisar. 04:15pm National Assembly session has started. 03:45pm Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz has decided to protest in the National Assembly after the election of prime minister over alleged rigging in the last month election. 03:15pm Talking to media upon arrival at the Parliament House, former federal minister Ahsan Iqbal said PML-N's mandate was snatched in July 25 elections. 03:00pm Sheikh Rasheed said Pakistan is in critical phase of its history. When asked to comment about his propspects of being in Imran Khan's cabinet, AML chief replied:" I'm in best position". The PTI emerged single largest party in July 25 general elections and is all set to form government in center with the help of its allies. Imran Khan is required to receive 172 votes in the 372-member house . Analyst believe Khan is expected to secure 176 voters while his opponent Shahbaz Sharif 95 . The Pakistan People's Party has decided to abstain the vote expressing reservations over the nomination of Shahbaz Sharif. The opposition stand divided after it failed to filed a joint candidate against Imran Khan. The PTI on Thursday got its chief minister elected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the second consecutive term while it is also expected to win the slot in Punjab.<doc-sep>Pakistani lawmakers will vote for a new prime minister Friday, with World Cup cricket hero and election winner Imran Khan expected to become the nuclear-armed country’s new leader-in-waiting after weeks of working to form a coalition. A simple majority in the vote, due to take place in the lower house of parliament on Friday afternoon, will bring Khan one step closer to power ahead of a swearing-in ceremony set for Saturday. Khan won the July 25 election, but did not have enough seats for an outright majority, forcing him to partner with smaller parties and independents in order to form a government. His only challenger is Shahbaz Sharif, leader of the ousted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who is not believed to have the necessary votes. The election was branded “Pakistan’s dirtiest”, after widespread claims in the months leading up to it that the powerful military was trying to fix the playing field against the PML-N and in Khan’s favour. Rival parties have alleged “blatant” vote-rigging. The army and Khan have denied the claims. Khan’s victory represents an end to decades of rotating leadership between the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), punctuated by periods of military rule. He and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party campaigned on promises to end widespread graft while building an “Islamic welfare state”. The party has already formed a government in its stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and an alliance with regional parties in the southwestern province of Balochistan. It is expected to form a coalition government in powerful Punjab province, formerly a PML-N stronghold, in coming days. Sindh province remained in the hands of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). PTI candidates were also voted Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly this week, putting Khan in a strong position to carry forward his legislative agenda. He will face myriad challenges including militant extremism, water shortages, and a booming population negating growth in the developing country, among others. Most pressing will be a looming economic crisis, with speculation that Pakistan will have to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. He will also have to contend with the same issue as many of his predecessors: how to maintain a balance of power in civil-military relations. In the West, Khan is often seen as a celebrity whose high-profile romances were tabloid fodder, but at home he cuts a more conservative persona as a devout Muslim who believes feminism has degraded motherhood. Known in Pakistan as “Taliban Khan” for his calls to hold talks with insurgents, he increasingly catered to religious hardliners during the campaign, spurring fears his leadership could embolden extremists.<doc-sep>ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has elected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan, more than two decades after the former captain of the Pakistan cricket team entered politics. Imran, whose party swept the July 25 general election and commands the loyalty of a majority of lawmakers in the Lower House of Parliament, will take oath of office on Saturday. 176 members of the National Assembly voted in favour of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson while his opponent, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif, received 96 votes. After the PM’s election, PML-N lawmakers resorted to chanting slogans of ‘respect the vote’. Women lawmakers of PML-N and PTI also chanted slogans in favour of their parties. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the third largest party in the House that joined the PML-N and others in an opposition alliance, withdrew its support for Sharif days before the election and abstained from voting. One member of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), which contested elections under the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) banner, also abstained from voting for either candidate. Imran promises strict accountability Imran, while addressing the National Assembly for the first time as PM-elect, vowed that he would not spare the ones who looted the country. "I am grateful to Almighty Allah and the nation for giving me the opportunity to bring a change which the nation wanted. The nation was longing for the change we will bring," Khan said. The prime minister-elect promised "strict accountability" and to bring back the looted wealth of the country. "I promise my nation that I will do strict accountability. No robber would be given an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance)," he said, adding, "I have reached here after struggling for 22 years and have not been fostered by any military dictator." Khan further said that being the prime minister, he would answer the questions in the National Assembly twice a month. ‘Parliamentary commission should probe rigging’ In his address during the National Assembly session, Shehbaz Sharif demanded the National Assembly speaker to form a parliamentary commission over the election rigging allegations. "Parliamentary commission should present its report to the public and House within 30 days," he said. "We won't attack parliament. We won't disturb the visit of foreign dignitaries to Pakistan. We won't curse the parliament. We won't force the Supreme Court judges to change their route," he said. "But we won't settle before getting answers of our questions." The PML-N president also called the recently elected national and provincial assemblies ‘the most controversial parliament in the country’s history'. ‘Anticipating how PM-elect will implement 100-day plan’ In his maiden National Assembly address, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari termed Parliament the mother of all institutions. The PPP chairman said he was anticipating how prime minister-elect Imran Khan would implement his 100-day plan. Bilawal Bhutto paid tribute to the martyrs who laid their lives in the attacks during the time of General Election 2018 and called for an investigation into the electoral violence. Congratulating Imran Khan on his election, Bilawal hoped the PM-elect would refrain from politics of hatred. The PPP chairman reiterated his party's commitment to democracy, country and the people. PTI's 100-day plan Sources have told Geo News that among the first steps the PTI-led government aims to take is a reshuffling of the top federal and provincial bureaucracy under its first 100-day plan. The strategy was finalised in a top-level huddle attended by the PTI chief and the top party leadership on Thursday. The reshuffle includes changing the chiefs of federal and provincial state institutions, and officers previously appointed on political pressure. Sources say Imran Khan has decided to change the heads of Federal Board of Revenue, NEPRA, Railways, Pakistan International Airlines and a few other institutions. The PTI has decided to appoint people with expertise in the relevant department within first 100 days of the government. The government will evaluate the performance of its appointee after the 100-day deadline. PTI introduced its first 100-day plan a few days before the July 25 general election. PTI leaders spoke about the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the creation of South Punjab province and giving greater authority to the government in Balochistan, as a part of their plan. While speaking about economic growth, the incoming finance minister Asad Umar said that the party would create 10 million jobs within five years if their party comes to power. He said the party would promote the manufacturing industry and pave way for the growth of small and medium enterprises. Umar also promised they would turn government guest-houses into hotels and open them for tourists. Besides, he added, five million houses would also be constructed for the homeless population of the country. A part of PTI's agenda would be improving the agriculture sector of the country, promised Tareen. He said their party would take measures to make agriculture profitable for farmers. Tareen added they would also provide financial help to farmers so that they could become self-sufficient.<doc-sep>
Imran Khan was picked by Pakistan lawmakers in the National Assembly. (File) Pakistani lawmakers have endorsed Imran Khan as their next prime minister, ahead of a ceremony on Saturday that should see the cricketer sworn in as leader of the nuclear-armed nation. Khan scraped together a simple majority in a confidence vote held in the lower house of parliament, three weeks after an election tainted by claims of military meddling and ballot rigging. "Imran Khan has secured 176 votes," National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser said after the vote, broadcast live from the lower house of parliament. He had needed 172 votes for a majority. His only rival, Shahbaz Sharif of the ousted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), won 96 votes, Qaiser said, with some opposition parties including the third-largest Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) abstaining from the vote. The result brings him one step closer to ending decades of rotating leadership between the PML-N and the PPP, punctuated by periods of military rule. Khan, clad in a waistcoat and traditional white shalwar kameez garments, smiled broadly and could be seen wiping tears from his eyes while clutching prayer beads as the count was announced. He had appeared relaxed before the vote, smiling and shaking hands with other parliamentarians, including Sharif. The former cricketer, who captained Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992, won the July 25 election but fell short of an outright majority, forcing him to partner with smaller parties and independents in order to form a government. Some television channels flashed archive images of Khan during his 1992 triumph as the vote was announced. The election was branded "Pakistan's dirtiest", after widespread claims through the campaign that the powerful military was trying to fix the playing field against the PML-N and in Khan's favour. Rival parties have alleged "blatant" vote-rigging, with several parliamentarians shouting protest slogans inside the assembly ahead of the vote. The army and Khan have denied the claims. The work begins Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party campaigned on promises to end widespread graft while building an "Islamic welfare state". The party has already formed a government in its stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and an alliance with regional parties in the southwestern province of Balochistan. It is expected to form a coalition government in powerful Punjab province, formerly a PML-N stronghold, in coming days. Sindh province remained in the hands of the PPP. PTI candidates were also voted speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly this week, putting Khan in a strong position to carry forward his legislative agenda. He will face myriad challenges including terrorism, water shortages, and a booming population negating growth in the developing country, among others. Most pressing will be a looming economic crisis, with speculation that Pakistan will have to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. He will also have to contend with the same issue as many of his predecessors: how to maintain a balance of power in civil-military relations. In the West, Khan is often seen as a celebrity whose high-profile romances were tabloid fodder, but at home he cuts a more conservative persona as a devout Muslim who believes feminism has degraded motherhood. Known in Pakistan as "Taliban Khan" for his calls to hold talks with insurgents, he increasingly catered to religious hardliners during the campaign, spurring fears his leadership could embolden extremists.