Notices issued to K-P Assembly speaker, deputy

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday issued notices to the speaker and deputy speaker of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly during the hearing of a petition seeking contempt charges for not administering the oath to lawmakers on reserved seats.

A two-member bench comprising Justice SM Atiq Shah and Justice Syed Arshad Ali heard the contempt petition. The court also sought a response from the respondents at the next hearing.

During the proceedings, the petitioner took the stance that the oath to elected members on reserved seats was not administered despite a court order.

The petitioner added that the speaker and deputy speaker had violated court orders and demanded contempt proceedings against them.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had stopped the Senate elections in K-P, citing delays in the administration of oaths for reserved seats.

K-P Election Commissioner Shamshad Khan arrived on assembly premises and requested a list of sworn-in MPAs from the assembly staff. Simultaneously, the opposition lodged a petition with the ECP, urging the postponement of Senate elections in the province.

Despite the stage being set and the election staff prepared, the K-P Senate polls failed to kick off at the promised hour of 9 am.

Subsequently, the ECP issued a notification announcing the postponement of polls, citing its earlier order from March and the upheld decision of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

The notification highlighted the failure to administer oaths, as required under Article 218(3) of the Constitution, resulting in an incomplete electoral college.

K-P Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati had filed a review petition against the recent directive of the PHC.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2024.