PESHAWAR: Twenty-five MPAs-elect of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opposition were sworn into office on Sunday after KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered their oaths.
The oath-taking issue has risen once again after the recent redistribution of reserved seats in the wake of a verdict by the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench that effectively took away the seats from the PTI and declared other political parties eligible for them.
Kundi delivered a press conference following the swearing-in ceremony, where he highlighted that the government reneged on an agreement it had made with the opposition.
“A formula of 6-5 was agreed upon and our opposition candidates withdrew,” the KP governor said. “All of them agreed that they will contest five seats — two will be contested by the JUI-F, two by the PPP, and the PML-N will for one.
“The PTI founder [Imran Khan] then made a decision, and their information secretary said, ‘our Senate candidates are not in our control’. If your Senate candidates are not in control, then how are the MPAs-elect in your control?” Kundi asked.
“The point is, we had a deal in place, we had an agreement. But their members were not completely on board.”
The KP governor highlighted that there are between 30 and 35 independent members of the assembly.
“We have spoken with them, and we are hopeful that we can move towards 6-5. As soon as the leader of the opposition briefs us, we will have a strategy ready for tonight and then we will contest tomorrow’s [Senate] elections,” Kundi said.
Earlier, the opposition MPAs could not take their oaths on reserved seats due to a lack of quorum in the provincial assembly.
At today’s assembly session, which had been called by the KP government, the 25 MPAs-elect on reserved seats for women and minorities were expected to be sworn in. The session had assumed importance as the non-administration of oaths could lead to the postponement of Senate polls set for tomorrow for 11 seats from the legislature.
The session was scheduled for 9am but began with a delay of two hours and 20 minutes, with KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati presiding over it. As soon as the session started, MPA Sher Ali Afridi of the ruling PTI pointed out a lack of quorum, leading to the session being adjourned till July 24.
Upon Afridi’s remarks, PML-N’s Sobia Shahid contended that a lack of quorum could not be pointed out between the recitation of the Holy Quran and the oath-taking. “You (KP government) have been making a joke out of this province for a year,” she said.
Swati asked her to point out the legal provisions for her argument instead of giving a speech.
Ahmad Karim Kundi, the PPP’s parliamentary leader in the KP Assembly, also spoke on the floor of the assembly, backing Shahid. He asserted that the administration of oath was “mandatory”, citing Article 255 of the Constitution.
The speaker also asked Ahmad to state the relevant provisions requiring so and issued a ruling to count the MPAs in attendance, at which it emerged that only 25 lawmakers were present.
Addressing PML-N’s Dr Ibadullah, Swati said: “Opposition leader sahib, there are 25 members present. The quorum is incomplete; ring the bells.”
The opposition lawmakers then came to the front of the speaker’s dais to protest. Swati then adjourned the session, saying: “As the quorum is incomplete, the sitting is adjourned till 2pm on Thursday, July 24.”
The ECP had approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday, requesting that Chief Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah appoint a person to administer the oath to the notified MPAs-elect under Article 255(2) (oath of office) of the Constitution.
Subsequently, after today’s session, the PHC registrar issued an order by Justice Shah that accepted the ECP request and nominated Governor Kundi to administer the oaths “at the earliest”.
It stressed that the governor should ensure that the oaths are “administered in the manner prescribed and proper record be maintained in accordance with the official procedure”. The judge also directed the KP Assembly secretary to facilitate the newly notified MPAs to sign the Roll of the Members.
A notification by the KP Governor’s secretariat, seen by Dawn.com, said Kundi would administer the oaths to the MPAs-elect at 6pm today.
The ECP has changed the timing for the Senate elections from 9am to 11am.
Earlier in the day, the ECP had issued a statement announcing that Kundi will administer the oaths at 9am tomorrow at Governor House. It ordered KP Inspector General (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed, the chief secretary and the Federal Constabulary IG to ensure foolproof security arrangements for the ceremony.
Speaking outside the KP Assembly after the session, Ibadullah said he would approach the courts against the delay in the oath-taking, assailing the PTI government.
“Do not hand over whatever political space is left to others,” he said. “No one can stop these oaths […] at which forum will they (PTI) challenge it?” the PML-N lawmaker said.
Ibadullah stressed that the opposition’s women and minority members had not had representation in the Senate for one and a half years, since the 2024 general elections.
Terming the PTI “politically immature”, he pointed out that it was the PTI government’s “responsibility” to ensure a proper quorum, given their majority in the KP Assembly.
Before the assembly session, the PTI held a parliamentary party meeting, in which it decided that none of its MPAs would attend the proceedings, calling the oaths a “theft of its right”.
In a statement, PTI’s Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, public relations adviser to KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, called it a “black day for parliamentary politics” and a “murder of democracy”.
“The oaths of opposition MPAs on reserved seats are an insult to the public’s opinion. […] The opposition is dissatisfied despite winning, while the PTI is satisfied even after losing as it has the public’s support,” Saif said.
The opposition now holds a total of 52 lawmakers in the KP Assembly. After the latest notifications by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the PML-N each hold 17 seats in the 125-member house, while the PPP holds 10 seats.
The Awami National Party (ANP) and PTI-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) each have three seats, while two seats were to be decided through a separate draw for each.
The PTI treasury and the joint opposition alliance had also agreed on a seat-sharing formula under which six seats will go to the treasury, which has 92 members in the KP Assembly, and five seats to the opposition.
KP Chief Minister Party Ali Amin Gandapur said that his party will take action against “disgruntled” Senate election candidates .
Speaking to reporters in Peshawar, Gandapur said, “Rejecting PTI founder Imran Khan’s decision is a defiance of his position as party founder.”
He added that the alliance with the opposition is only till the Senate elections.
Earlier, an agreement was reached with the opposition on the formula of PTI receiving eight seats and the opposition getting three in the upcoming Senate elections, he added.
“We suffered losses due to our candidates not withdrawing their papers,” he added, saying, “Now, we will get six seats and the opposition will get five seats.”
