Kumar's oath-taking blocked: fate of Senate elections in KP hangs in balance

The fate of Senate elections on seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hangs in the balance after the Peshawar High Court (PHC) ruling that there will be no voting until Baldev Kumar takes oath as a member of the assembly on minority reserved seat. The Senate elections are scheduled to be held on March 3 (today).
When the session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly resumed on Friday, the opposition and the treasury members walked out in protest against the presence of MPA-elect Baldev Kumar in the house. The Speaker had to adjourn the session for indefinite period over lack of quorum. PTI lawmaker Mehmood Khan said they would not allow Kumar to take oath because it would set a wrong precedent in the country.
Justice Ikramullah Khan of the PHC ruled that Senate polls in the KP province would not take place unless the MPA-elect is allowed to take oath. He observed the court had not just ordered his production in the assembly session but also for taking oath as MPA. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its coalition partners have gone into consultative mood in the wake of the high court order.
PTI MPA Shaukat Yousafzai said it was being discussed whether another session of the assembly could be called in a day. If the lawmaker was not sworn in, the voting for Senate elections might not be held, he apprehended. On February 8, the PHC had directed the Speaker to issue orders for production of Baldev for the KP assembly session for oath-taking.
Ruling coalition also remains divided on his oath-taking because Kumar was blamed for murder of Sardar Soran Singh haling from Buner who was adviser to the KP Chief Minister. That is why some of the MPAs from treasury benches too joined the Opposition in protest against Kumar's oath-taking.