Newly elected senators take oath amid PTI boycott (WATCH LIVE)

ISLAMABAD: The newly-elected senators were sworn in today amid a ruckus in the upper house of the parliament after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) boycotted the session, terming the process as unconstitutional due to an incomplete house.

The session of the upper house of the parliament was summoned today to elect the chairman and deputy chairman of the house amidst a boycott by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). In today’s Senate session, as many as 43 senators took oath after the session began today with Senator Ishaq Dar as the presiding officer.

The ruling alliance’s candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani will compete for the Senate chairman’s slot in the absence of any opposition. Moreover, PML-N has nominated Syedaal Khan Nasar official for the deputy chairman slot. Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who had won the Senate’s technocrat seat from Islamabad, as the presiding officer for today’s Senate elections.

The Senate of Pakistan became dysfunctional on March 11 after half of its members retired. Later, the Election Commission of Pakistan on April 2 held elections on vacant Senate seats with postponement of the Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Yesterday, PTI’s core committee decided to boycott the Senate election and moved a petition to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Senate secretariat urging a delay in the election owing to the postponement of the Senate election in KP.