Peshawar: Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi will administer oath to members elected on reserves seats of women and minorities.
According to the statement issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan, Governor KP Faisal Karim Kundi will administer oath to members elected on reserved at a time of his own choice and after that the process for the senate elections will start at 11:00 AM tomorrow (Monday) at the Jirga Hall. The ECP has issued directions to IG Police KP, Chief Secretary KP and IG Frontier Constabulary for making foolproof security arrangements on the occasion of Senate elections for avoiding any untoward incident.
Earlier on Sunday, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Syed Muhammad Atique Shah appointed KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath to members elected on reserved seats in the provincial assembly after the KP Speaker Babar Saleem Swati adjourned the session due to a lack of quorum.
The development comes hours after the opposition MPAs filed a petition in the PHC, urging the chief justice to nominate an authority to oversee the oath-taking process without further delay.
Opposition groups, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), had submitted the request through the PHC Registrar, seeking the nomination of an individual to administer the oath to members who have yet to be sworn in on reserved seats in the KP Assembly.
According to the PPP's Additional Secretary General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the petition stated that members elected on reserved seats had not taken their oaths, and urged the PHC chief justice to appoint someone for the task.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session was adjourned shortly after it commenced due to a lack of quorum as the PTI lawmakers skipped the crucial sitting earlier on Sunday.
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, who started the proceedings with a delay of over two hours, adjourned the session when PTI MPA Sher Ali Afridi pointed out the lack of quorum.
The chair then ordered headcount and rang the bells for a five-minute break before finally adjourning the session until July 24.
The decision to skip the assembly session came after PTI KP chapter parliamentary party meeting decided to boycott the sitting.
At least 21 women and four minority members were supposed to take their oath as members of the KP Assembly on reserved seats on Sunday.
As the proceedings began on Sunday, opposition MPAs criticised the interruption during the Quranic recitation, saying, 'You cannot point out quorum during the recitation,' said a PML-N MPA. 'Mr speaker, this is not the right way. we've been denied our right to take the oath for two years,' she added.
Leader of the Opposition in KP Assembly Dr. Ibadullah Khan also expressed displeasure over the speaker's move, warning that the opposition would take legal action. 'We'll go to court and request the chief justice to intervene,' he said. 'If the oath isn't taken now, it should at least happen later this evening.'
He added that the opposition is committed to preserving what little political space remains and ensuring it is not further eroded.