PESHAWAR   -  The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has served notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other relevant parties in response to a petition challenging the postponement of Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The petition raises concerns over the ECP decision to link the Senate election with the administration of oath to the members provincial assembly (MPAs) elected on reserved seats.

The MPAs elected on reserved seats have filed a contempt of court petition in the high court, seeking the disqual­ification of the speaker and deputy speaker of the KP Assembly for failing to administer their oath.

A bench comprising Justice SM At­tique Shah and Justice Syed Arshad Ali heard the petition. Justice SM At­tique Shah noted that while lawmak­ers elected on reserved seats in other provinces had been sworn in, those in KP had not been administered oaths so far. Ali Zaman advocate, represent­ing the petitioners, argued that the Senate elections were proceeding na­tionwide, except in KP, where the ECP postponed the polls citing PHC direc­tive to the KP Assembly speaker to ad­minister oath to the reserved seats lawmakers.

Zaman claimed the postponement was unconstitutional and pointed out that PTI leader Azam Khan Swati had also challenged the ECP interpreta­tion of the PHC order. The petitioner urged the court to order the Senate elections to proceed in the province.

The bench issued a notice to the ECP regarding the linkage of oath admin­istration to the Senate election and postponed the hearing on the KP As­sembly speaker’s review petition un­til the detailed judgment on the con­tempt of court petition.