QUETTA: Becoming the first woman to hold the post in the history of the province, Rahila Hameed Khan Durrani was elected unopposed as the speaker of the Balochistan Assembly on Thursday.

Durrani belongs to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), which leads the provincial government alongside Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and National Party.

No other candidate submitted nomination papers during the stipulated time of 9am to 10am.

But a Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) legislator Mufti Gulab's nomination papers were rejected by the Presiding Officer for submitting after a delay of 30 minutes.

"It is a matter of immense pleasure for me to be the first female speaker of Balochistan Assembly," Durrani told Dawn.com after her election.

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"I will try to meet the expectations of the masses of Balochistan", she said.

The post of speaker remained vacant after the resignation of Jan Muhammad Jamali in May. In the mean time, Qudoos Bizenjo, the deputy speaker performed the duties of Balochistan Assembly speaker.

Rahila Durrani was elected to the assembly on a reserved seat for women.

She was also a provincial minister for prosecution in former chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani's cabinet. Durrani previously served as an MPA in late Jam Yousuf -led Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) government.