Newly elected members of Pakistan’s National Assembly were sworn in yesterday, officially marking the first transition of power between democratically elected civilian governments in the nearly 66-year history of the coup-prone country.

Among the steep challenges the legislators will face: massive energy shortages that leave some Pakistanis without power for up to 20 hours a day; a badly ailing economy that might force the Muslim-majority nation to seek an international bailout; and ongoing militant activity by Taliban and other extremists whose violence has killed thousands in the past decade and badly strained Pakistan’s alliance with the US.

Arriving at the Parliament building in Islamabad on a bright, hot day under tight security, the politicians were immediately mobbed by reporters.

Among those in the spotlight was the incoming Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, whose Pakistan Muslim League-N won the May 11 elections.

“We are facing many challenges, but God willing, we will overcome them,” said Mr Sharif, who twice served as Prime Minister in the 1990s and was ousted in a 1999 military coup.