Oath-taking of KP Assembly reserved seats challenged in high court

PESHAWAR: The oath taking of 25 newly elected opposition members of the KP Assembly on reserved seats, administered by Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi has been challenged in the Peshawar High Court on Monday.

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Speaker KP Assembly have filed a petition against the swearing-in ceremony of members held at the Governor House on Sunday.

Federal government, Registrar high court, Governor, election commission and others have been made respondents in the petition.

“Speaker KP Assembly didn’t refuse to administer oath to the members, the session was adjourned by the Speaker after being informed about the lack of quorum”, according to petitioners.

“The oath-taking in the Governor House has been extra constitutional as the speaker adjourned the session until July 24,” according to the petition.

Petitioners argued that the Article 65 of the constitution calls for oath-taking in the assembly.

Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel said that in Article 255-ii words ‘non-implementable, impossible’ written. “The Chief Justice have judicial authority under the Article 255-ii,” AG said.

“We were not heard, and the chief justice nominated the governor for taking oath,” Advocate General further said.

The swearing-in ceremony held yesterday after the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had nominated Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath to newly elected members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly on reserved seats for women and non-Muslims.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly session was postponed until July 24, 2025, due to the lack of quorum, prompting the ECP to formally request the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court to nominate a suitable individual for administering the oath.