Dhaka, March 12 -- President Mohammed Shahabuddin has administered the oaths of office to Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad and Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal at his office in the Parliament Building after they were elected by the 13th parliament.

Hafiz, a six-time MP, was the minister for Liberation War affairs in Tarique Rahman's cabinet. A member of the BNP National Standing Committee, the party's top policymaking body, he was also the minister for water resources in the Khaleda Zia government in 2001.

The first session of the 13th parliament began at 11:05am on Thursday and was presided over by senior MP Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain by the unanimous decision of the MPs. As per the rules, the speaker and deputy speaker were elected at the beginn...