Oath of office ceremony of Imran Khan

Following the general election on 25 July 2018, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the largest political party in Pakistan. It secured 116 general seats in the 15th National Assembly. The PTI also enlisted support from smaller parties including: the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (three members), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (seven members), Balochistan Awami Party (five members), Balochistan National Party (Mengal) (four members), Grand Democratic Alliance (three members) as well as the Awami Muslim League and Jamhoori Watan Party (one member each), providing it the comfortable majority to form a coalition government, and making Khan the clear forerunner for prime minister. The first session of the assembly was held on 13 August, during which all elected members took the parliamentary oath. On 17 August 2018, Khan secured 176 votes and became 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan while his contender and eventual leader of opposition Shehbaz Sharif received 96 votes. The session was summoned at 3:30 pm PST, during which an open ballot took place amongst assembly members to elect the prime minister. In the run-up to the first assembly session, a series of party meetings took place at Khan's residence in Bani Gala to determine members of Khan's incoming cabinet. ==Ceremony==

The ceremony, hosted at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad, was scheduled to begin at 9:30 am PKT but started a little after 10:00 am PKT. The ceremony started with the playing of the Qaumi Taranah, followed by a recitation from the Quran. Khan wore a simple black sherwani for the ceremony. First Lady of Pakistan Bushra Bibi was also in attendance. The first lady was clad in a white abaya. She sat in the first row next to National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser. This was Bushra's first public appearance since her wedding to Khan earlier in 2018. Invitees Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu arrived in Pakistan via the Wagha border to attend the oath-taking ceremony. Celebrities that attended the ceremony included, actor Jawed Sheikh and singers Salman Ahmad and Abrar ul Haq. The notable guests that were present at the ceremony included, caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk, National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, Punjab Assembly speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Air Staff Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and former National Assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza. ==References==