PTI's Asad Qaiser beats PPP's Khursheed Shah to become NA speaker

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Asad Qaiser was sworn in on Wednesday as the new National Assembly speaker after defeating Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Khursheed Shah.

Qaiser also the former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly (KP) speaker, secured 176 votes. Shah on the hand bagged 146 votes, local media reported. A total of 330 votes were casted out of which eight were rejected.

Outgoing NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq administered oath to Qaiser amid loud chants of  'vote ko izzat do ' (respect the vote) by opposition lawmakers.

The election for the deputy speaker will also be held today. For the slot of deputy speaker of NA, PTI has nominated Qasim Suri, whereas Asad Mahmood of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has been fielded by the opposition.

Meanwhile, the speakers for Sindh and KP assemblies were also elected today. For Sindh Assembly, PPP's and former speaker Agha Siraj Durrani has been elected. While, Mushtaq Ghani was sworn in as the speaker of KP.