‘Reserved seats issue’: PHC issues contempt notice to KP PA speaker, deputy speaker

PESHAWAR: Over the issue of not administration of oath on reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) issued a notice of contempt of court to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The PHC heard the case of contempt of court against Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi of the KP Assembly on Wednesday.

Justice SM Atique Shah and Justice Syed Arshad Ali conducted the hearing of the contempt petition filed by the opposition parties in the Peshawar High Court.

Reserved seats: KP PA Speaker files review plea in PHC

The Peshawar High Court issued the notice and sought the response of the KP Assembly speaker and deputy speaker at the next hearing.

A petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court that the elected members of the Reserved Seats for Women and Minorities were not sworn in despite the court orders.

In the petition, it is appealed to the court that the speaker and the deputy speaker should be disqualified for disobeying the court orders under the law of contempt of court.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed the Senate elections on 11 seats of the KP due to an incomplete electoral college as the oath of elected lawmakers on reserved seats for women and minorities was not administered in the KP assembly.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer said the court had ordered the elected members of the assembly to take oath on reserved seats.

Despite court orders, the oath was not administered to them on the reserved seats.

The petitioner’s counsel said the speaker and deputy speaker of the assembly violated the court orders. Therefore, contempt of court proceedings should be initiated against them, he said.

The court, while issuing notices to the speaker and deputy speaker, directed them to submit their reply on the next hearing date.

A day ago, the elected members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had filed a contempt petition in the Peshawar High Court on the issue of delayed oath to members on reserved seats.

It may be recalled that on March 27, the Peshawar High Court, while accepting the petition of opposition members in case of oath on reserved seats, had ordered the speaker to administer oath to the members.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024