Oath on reserved seats: PHC seeks response from Speaker, Deputy Speaker

Peshawar: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) Tuesday asked the Speaker and Deputy Speaker to respond within 14 days on the issue of non-swearing of the elected members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on reserved seats.

Justice SM Atiq Shah and Justice Fazal Subhan of PHC heard the petition of the members of the assembly on the issue of not taking the oath of the elected members of the assembly on the reserved seats of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

The court issued a notice to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker and sought their response within 14 days.

During the hearing, the lawyer said that the petitioner has been elected as a member on the reserved seat. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also notified the petitioner, the court had ordered the Speaker to administer oath to the members before the Senate election. Even after the court orders, the members of the Assembly have not been sworn in yet.

The court remarked that they will issue a notice to the speaker and will hear the case once the response comes. Counsel for the petitioner requested that the case be set for early hearing. On which the court said that there are many more cases of this nature.

It is pertinent to note that the Election Commission had made the Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa subject to the oath of elected members on reserved seats.