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.