KP governor administers oath to Opposition MPAs
The oath-taking ceremony was held here at Governor's House on Sunday.
After the adjournment of the proceedings of the KP Assembly in the name of the lack of quorum in an especially summoned session of the house for the purpose, the Chief Justice, Peshawar High Court (PHC) on a request of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in line with Article 255 (2) of the Constitution of Pakistan had nominated the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to administered oath to newly elected members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on reserved seats for women and non-Muslims.
PHC bars elected MPAs on reserved seats from taking oath
A formal notification (No. 453-J) issued by the High Court Registrar directed that the oath-taking ceremony should take place at the earliest in accordance with the constitutional framework and prescribed legal procedures.
The Governor has been tasked to ensure that the oath is administered in the prescribed manner and that official record is properly maintained.
The court has also instructed the Secretary of the Provincial Assembly to facilitate the process by enabling the newly notified members to sign the Roll of Members as per Rule 6 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules, 1988.
A formal notification in this regard also issued on Sunday, and its copies were forwarded to key stakeholders including the Speaker and Secretary of the Provincial Assembly, the Election Commission, and the Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A ceremony to administered oath to women and non-Muslims elected on reserved seats is schedule at Governor's House today (Monday) at 9:00 A.M.
The Treasury benches in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly created the issue of quorum to avoid the administering of oath to women and non-Muslims elected to the house against reserved seats.
A special session of the provincial legislature was convened on the request of the Chief Minister to administer oath to the women and minorities' representatives elected on reserved seats to formally enrolled them as members of the house.
But it could not happen due to the strategy evolved by the treasury benches, which is divided into two groups over the issuance of tickets by the party leadership, particularly by the jailed PTI founder Imran Khan.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly is going to elect 11 Senators and on the basis of its strength in the electoral college, it has fielded six candidates by issuing them party ticket. The candidates fielded by the ruling party include Murad Saeed, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri and Mirza Khan Afridi on general seats, Azam Swati on technocrat and Robina Naz on seats reserved for women.
The Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur and joint opposition in the provincial legislature have already developed consensus on the distribution of seats by allowing the election of the five candidates of the later to the Senate. However, some PTI leaders Irfan Saleem, Khurram Zeeshan and Ayesha Bano, who had had filed nominations, but were denied tickets are not ready to accept the decision of the leadership and have come in the forefront of the leadership against the decision of the party.
Though the session of the legislature was convened. However, the staying away from the house by the legislatures, particularly treasury benches braked it due to the lack of quorum in the house.
As the house began proceedings with Speaker Babar Saleem Swati in the chair, a treasury benches member Sher Ali Afridi pinpointed the lack of quorum and the Speaker has to order the ringing of the bells to bring legislators to the house. But, in legislators did not turned up prompting the Speaker to adjourned the proceedings of the house till July 24,2025.
Later, speaking informally in the house, the leader of opposition Dr Ibadullah said that how long will this continue? He said that a period of over on years has been passed, but the members are still awaiting their oath.
He said that if the Speaker does not take the oath, then they will file a petition with the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court to administer the oath to them.
Earlier, while speaking to the media, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati said tha the oath-taking will take place whenever the assembly session is held, quorum in the house merely after entering the house.
When asked regarding the delay in the oath-taking, the Speaker with a meaningful smile said that it will happen eventually.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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