Omer Ayub Khan, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) politician, strongly opposed the oath-taking of Members National Assembly (MNAs) on reserved seats on Friday, calling it “unconstitutional”.
His statement came after a handful of newly elected legislators from reserved seats in the NA were sworn in. NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq took the oath to the MNAs amid protests and sloganeering by PTI-backed SIC MPs.
Taking the floor, Ayub, Imran Khan’s choice for opposition leader, stated: “Today’s oath-taking of MNAs on reserved seats is illegal and has no [legal] standing.”
The PTI leader questioned the oathtaking process, asking how a country could function without the rule of law. “The system cannot work like this.”
The reservations come as the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has extended the stay order on parliamentarians’ oath-taking ceremonies over reserved seats denied to the PTI-backed SIC until March 13.
For his part, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan informed the speaker that the PHC has placed a stay on the oath-taking of members from reserved seats. He stated that the oath cannot be administered to them until the case has been decided.
The PTI leader stated that the reserved seats for his party could not be allocated to anyone else.
Responding, the speaker stated that the lower house of parliament has not received an order from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) or the court regarding the oath-taking of MNAs on reserved seats.
In an effort to clarify the situation, Pakistan’s Attorney General, Mansoor Usman Awan, stated that the PHC’s ruling applies directly to the province’s representation.
“No member falling under the jurisdiction of PHC has taken an oath today,” Awan went on to say. The attorney general stated that the PHC ruling does not apply to Sindh and Balochistan.
