The Speaker of the National Assembly (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
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National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

– a

lower house A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or oth ...

of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. The office has its roots in 1947 and was reestablished in 1973 in accordance to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...

; the speaker presides over the chamber composed of people's representatives elected on the basis of universal franchise. The Speaker is

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and occupies fourth position in the Warrant of Precedence, after the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...

and the Chairman of Senate. In addition, the Speaker is the spokesman of the National Assembly to the outside world, and is non-partisan in his approach. To exercise the great authority that stems from the respect, affection and consideration which every Member of the House bestows upon the holder of this high office, the Speaker shows complete impartiality in the discharge of his or her functions. The speakers continues to serve until a new speaker is elected when the National Assembly dissolves.

Role and responsibilities

The office of Speaker of the National Assembly is created by Article 53 of the Chapter 2 in Part III of the Constitution of Pakistan:Article 53(1)
of the Chapter 2: Parliament in Part III of the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's opposition parties, it was approved by ...

The Speakership of the National Assembly is a leadership position and the office-holder actively works to set the majority party's legislative agenda. The Speaker usually does not personally preside over debates, instead delegating the duty to members of the House from the majority party. The Speaker usually does not participate in debate and rarely votes.

History

The first speaker of the

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame a constitution for Pakistan. It also served as its first ...

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

was elected unanimously on 11 August 1947. He served from 11 August until his death on 11 September 1948. He was succeeded by Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan was then elected President who served two separate terms in that capacity. Only two speakers in the history of Pakistan have gone on to become

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

who served as speaker from 14 April 1972 to 15 August 1972 and

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. He ...

who served from 17 October 1993 to 16 February 1997.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ( ur, ; born 26 December 1950) is a Pakistani politician, businessman and agriculturist who is the current Speaker of the National Assembly and a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-58 (Rawalpindi-II). ...

, the incumbent Speaker, previously served as Prime Minister from 2012 to 2013.

List of speakers

List of speakers of the National Assembly These are the names of speakers and presidents of the

References

{{Speaker National Assembly Pakistan National Assembly of Pakistan

Role and responsibilities

History

List of speakers

See also

References