Peshawar:
Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday held the oath of legislators who were nominated for reserved places for women and minorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly, following a petition submitted by Pakistan Tehreek-In-Insaf Parliammentarians (PTI-P).
PTI-P chairman Mehmood Khan challenged March 4, 2024, review issued by the Election Commission in Pakistan (ECP). He claimed that PTI-P based on the party’s success conditions was entitled to three reserved places for women and one for minorities, but was only assigned to a seat.
A two-member PHC bench consisting of justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr. Khurshid Iqbal, heard the petition filed through PTI-P-PS lawyer Sultan Muhammad Khan. The court issued messages and sought answers from ECP.
The petition stated that Arbab Waseem and Iqbal Wazir were elected members of the provincial assembly on PTI-P tickets. It also added that all candidates for PTI had contested the election as independent and later joined Sunni Itthad Council (SIC).
Due to PTI’s limited representation in the assembly, the reserved seats were distributed among other parliamentary parties. Therefore, the PTI-P was only awarded a seat, although the party claimed it was entitled to three reserved places for women and one for minorities based on its success.
During the hearing, justice noted Ali that the petitioner should turn to the ECP rather than the court. The lawyer claimed that the ED tag of incoming lawmakers would be administered when the assembly session began, which could make the petition ineffective.
He requested the court to delay that oath until the petition was decided. After hearing initial arguments, the court ordered a stay on the oath taken for the reserved seats and sought a response from the ECP.
Separately, Awami National Party (ANP) had also filed a petition for ECP. Attorney Babar Yousafzai claimed that ANP was originally awarded a reserved seat, but after Nisar Baz’s victory in election, the party now has two general seats in the provincial assembly.
He requested that the ECP revised the allocation of reserved seats to reflect the UP’s updated strength and give the party the corresponding reserved seats accordingly.
