Lahore | Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Monday made history by becoming the first-ever woman chief minister of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province, a development described by her party as a "giant leap" for the country.

Maryam, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, took oath as the Punjab chief minister at a ceremony at the Governor House in the presence of her father Nawaz Sharif and uncle Shehbaz Sharif.

She earlier won the chief ministerial elections amidst a walkout by lawmakers of former prime minister Imran Khan's party-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

"HISTORY MADE! Maryam Nawaz Sharif takes oath as Punjab's FIRST EVER female Chief Minister! A giant leap for Pakistan," her party said in a post on X.

In her inaugural speech, Maryam said she has no desire for "revenge” against her political rivals who jailed her along with members of her family, including her father.

"I neither have a feeling of revenge or vengeance and my journey includes my arrest, my father's arrest, my mother’s passing away," she said, indirectly referring to former Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and former Supreme Court chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar.

She thanked the opposition for making her go through all the ordeal which helped her reach the province's top office, referring to the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, whose government incarcerated the Sharif family in corruption cases.

"On this occasion, I thank my late mother (Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif) too as she knowingly and unknowingly trained me for this day. She is still present with me, her prayers and best wishes. She taught me how to face trials," said Maryam.

"I am thankful that you have made me occupy the seat from where a visionary leader like Nawaz started his career [and] who later made Pakistan invincible with nuclear technology," said the newly-elected chief minister.

She said that the senior PML-N leaders including Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif were her mentors. "I consider this office as a big responsibility on my shoulders," she added.

In her speech at the provincial legislature earlier, Maryam thanked God, her father, Nawaz Sharif, uncle Shehbaz Sharif and the lawmakers who voted for her.

"Today, every woman of the province is proud to see a woman chief minister," she said and hoped that the tradition of female leadership would continue in the future as well.

Maryam received 220 votes and won the chief ministerial elections for the politically crucial Punjab province, home to 120 million people. She defeated Rana Aftab of the PTI-backed SIC, who received no votes as his party boycotted the election.

To win the chief minister's election, a candidate needs to win the backing of the majority, which is 187 members in the House that currently has 327 seats, according to Geo News. The newly-elected chief minister, Maryam, enjoyed the support of the majority in the House.

The PTI-backed SIC's 103 members have taken oath from its total 113 lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly. Maryam was backed by PML-N allies, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), and the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP).

The walkout by at least 103 SIC members -- including the PTI-backed independent lawmakers -- was staged after the SIC nominee for chief minister, Aftab, was not permitted to speak at the point of order.

Before boycotting the session, the opposition chanted slogans of "Queen of Mandate Thieves" as the PTI claimed that Maryam had lost his seat with a margin of over 800 votes in the February 8 polls besides the party's over 100 Punjab Assembly seats that had been stolen. It decried that the irony is a "defeated" candidate has become chief minister.

Taking a swipe at the walkout by the SIC lawmakers, Maryam said, “Today, I am upset that the respectable members of the opposition benches are not present here […] I wish they would be a part of the political and democratic process.”

Meanwhile, the PTI nominee for the chief ministerial post, Aftab, said, "It seems as if dictatorship persists even today,” according to the report.

Maryam paid a visit to her mother’s grave at Jati Umra before going to the Punjab Assembly. She also visited the graves of her paternal grandparents.

Maryam is considered the political heir of the 74-year-old PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who surprisingly nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, 72, as his party's prime ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, in Sindh, senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader Murad Ali Shah was reelected as the new chief minister of the province after securing 112 votes out of 148 total cast during voting for the coveted position.

In his victory speech, Shah said he was honoured to take over the position of the provincial head for the third consecutive term.

Shah expressed confidence that PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari will take oath as the president within the next few weeks.

"I urge you all to vote for him [Zardari] in the elections,” he said and added that Bilawal will soon become the prime minister on the back of votes.