Amid Poll Rigging Allegations, Pak's Newly Elected Parliament Takes Oath

Parliamentarians began arriving at the 336-seat National Assembly in Islamabad on Thursday morning and took their oaths of office in unison

Lawmakers were sworn in during the first sitting of Pakistan's new parliament Thursday, three weeks after an election marred by widespread allegations of rigging.

Pakistan's February 8 poll took place with ex-prime minister Imran Khan jailed and barred from running, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party targeted by a campaign of arrests and censorship.

Khan's followers defied the crackdown to win more seats than any other party but the military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is set to shut them out of power with a coalition government.