The Pakistani government elected on Wednesday the country’s first female speaker.

She is Fahmida Mirza, a 52-year-old veteran politician whose loyalty belongs to the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) which is currently led by Asif Ali Zardari, Ms Beanir Bhutto's husband who took over after his wife was assassinated.

Ms Mirza was elected speaker with 249 votes in the 342-seat lower house to become the first female speaker in Pakistan’s 60-year history. She is expected to play a major role in the country’s next phase of the political struggle as frictions between the coalition government led by PPP and President Pervez Musharraf.

Bhuto’s party allready agreed to be the leading party in the coalition government. They now must name a Prime Minister.

In a speech held before being elected as the parliament speaker, Ms Mirza, a former medical doctor, said it was time to "work together to address the challenges facing the country".

"I am sure that we will be able to face these challenges with the support of parliamentarians, our people and Pakistani media," she added.

For the record, the role of the speaker is to oversee the parliament’s workings and decide which debates and motions should be allowed.

Ms Mirza - born in the same province as Bhutto (the Sindth province) - took the oath today as the first female parliament speaker in the deeply conservative Islamic nation of 160 million people.

During her speech she emphasized the need to work together in order to solve the challenges facing Pakistan.

"I am sure that we will be able to face these challenges with the support of parliamentarians, our people and Pakistani media," the veteran politician added.