National Assembly of Pakistan

Asad Qaiser (PTI)

Speaker

Qasim Suri (PTI)

Deputy Speaker

Imran Khan (PTI)

Leader of the House

Shehbaz Sharif (PML-N)

Leader of the Opposition

The National Assembly (“Pakistan lower house”) is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upper house). The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad. The National Assembly is a democratically elected body consisting of a total of 336 members, before 25th amendment they used to be 342 who are referred to as Members of the National Assembly (MNAs), of which 272 are directly elected members and 70 reserved seats for women and religious minorities. A political party must secure 137 seats to obtain and preserve a majority.

Members are elected through the first-past-the-post system under universal adult suffrage, representing electoral districts known as National Assembly constituencies. According to the constitution, the 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities are allocated to the political parties according to their proportional representation.

Each National Assembly is formed for a five-year term, commencing from the date of the first sitting, after which it is automatically dissolved. Currently the National Assembly can not be dissolved by the President of Pakistan; it is dissolved by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Election for 13th National Assembly was held on 18 February 2008. New session of National Assembly was started from March 2008. On 17 March 2013, 13th National Assembly was dissolved on completion of its five-year term under Article 52 of the constitution. 2013 Pakistani general election (for the 14th National Assembly) was held on 11 May 2013. Members of 14th National Assembly took oath on 1 June 2013. The 14th National Assembly dissolved on 31 May 2018 upon completing its 5-year term under Article 52 of the constitution. The 15th National Assembly of Pakistan took their oath on 13 August 2018

History

The first session of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was held on 10 August 1947 at Sindh Assembly Building, in Karachi. On 11 August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected unanimously as the President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the National Flag was formally approved by the Assembly.

On 12 August 1947, a resolution was approved regarding officially addressing Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah as “Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah”. On the same day, a special committee called the “Committee on Fundamental Rights of Citizens and Minorities of Pakistan” was appointed to look into and advise the Assembly on matters relating to fundamental rights of the citizens, particularly the minorities, with the aim to legislate on these issues appropriately.
On 14 August 1947, Lord Mountbatten, Governor General of India, addressed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. The transfer of power took place on 15 August. The Quaid gave a reply to the address in the House, on which the principles of the State of Pakistan were laid.
On 15 August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam was sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan. Mian Sir Abdur Rashid, Chief Justice of Pakistan, administered oath of office from him. The Quaid remained in this position until his death on 11 September 1948.

Speaker and Deputy Speaker

According to The Constitution

(1) After a general election, the National Assembly shall, at its first meeting and to the exclusion of any other business, elect from amongst its members a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the Assembly shall elect another member as Speaker or, as the case may be, Deputy Speaker.
(2) Before entering upon office, a member elected as Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall make before the National Assembly oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule.
(3) When the office of Speaker is vacant, or the Speaker is absent or is unable to perform his functions due to any cause, the Deputy Speaker shall act as Speaker, and if, at that time, the Deputy Speaker is also absent or is unable to act as Speaker due to any cause, such member as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the Assembly shall preside at the meeting of the Assembly.
(4) The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker shall not preside at a meeting of the Assembly when a resolution for his removal from office is being considered.
(5) The Speaker may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.
(6) The Deputy Speaker may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker, resign his office.
(7) The office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall become vacant if:

(a) he resigns his office;
(b) he ceases to be a member of the Assembly;
(c) he is removed from office by a resolution of the Assembly, of which not less than seven days’ notice has been given and which is passed by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Assembly.

(8) When the National Assembly is dissolved the Speaker shall continue in his office till the person elected to fill the office by the next Assembly enters upon his office.

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the National Assembly. The speaker is assisted by the Deputy Speaker. Both officers are elected from within the ranks of the National Assembly and, by current convention, are usually members of the majority party. The election of the two officers is the first matter an incoming National Assembly deals with, as mandated by the constitution. Apart from presiding over National Assembly debates, the Speaker may also assume the duties of Acting President, if the position is vacant (in case the President as well as Chairman Senate are not available).

The current Speaker and Deputy Speaker are Asad Qaiser (PTI) and Qasim Suri (PTI), respectively.

Members of National Assembly