The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the speaker and deputy speaker of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly during the hearing of a petition seeking contempt charges for not administering the oath to lawmakers on reserved seats.
A two-member bench comprising Justice SM Atiq Shah and Justice Syed Arshad Ali heard the contempt petition. The court also sought a response from the respondents at the next hearing.
During the hearing, the petitioner took the stance that the oath to elected members on reserved seats was not administered despite a court order.
The petitioner added that the speaker and the deputy speaker had violated the court orders and demanded contempt proceedings against them. On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan stopped the Senate elections in KP, citing delays in the administration of oaths for reserved seats.
KP Election Commissioner Shamshad Khan arrived at the assembly premises and requested a list of sworn-in MPAs from the assembly staff. Simultaneously, the opposition lodged a petition with the ECP, urging the postponement of Senate elections in the province. Despite the stage being set and the election staff prepared, the K-P Senate polls failed to kick off at the promised hour of 9 am.
