PESHAWAR: Opposition parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly filed a petition with the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday, requesting that the court intervene on the subject of oath-taking for members on reserved seats.
The suit, filed by members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), asks the court to ensure that members elected to reserved seats are sworn in so that they can vote in the next Senate elections.
“Failure to administer the oath to members elected on the KP reserved reflects’mal-intent’,” reads the plea, which also asks the court to postpone the Senate elections if the elected members are not sworn in.
The development comes as the issue of oath-taking for members on reserved seats is in doubt due to a deadlock between the KP government and opposition parties, with the former objecting to the KP governor’s decision to convene the assembly session at the opposition’s request.
According to KP Food Minister Zahir Shah Toru, the governor committed an illegal act by sending a letter summoning the assembly.
Last Monday, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi declared that he would approach the courts and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to convene the provincial parliament session.
His comments came after KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati refused to grant the governor’s request to convene the assembly and administer the oath to the members elected on seats reserved for women and minorities.
