PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) will hear today (May 2) a review petition filed by the KP Assembly speaker against the court directives of administering oath to the members elected on the seats reserved for women and minorities and the two contempt pleas filed by the opposition parties.
A two-member bench consisting of Justice SM Attique Shah and Justice Shakeel Ahmad will hear the petition filed by KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.
The petition was filed to review the PHC verdict of March 28, handed by the two-member bench.
The court had directed KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Speaker Babar Saleem Swati to call the provincial assembly into session and take oath from the members elected on the reserved seats. The opposition parties filed a contempt of court petition against the KP government as despite the court orders, the assembly session was not convened and the oath not taken to the members elected on the reserved seats.
The cause list issued by the court stated that two separate benches would hear the petitions. Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Wiqar Ahmad will hear the contempt of court petition filed by MPA-elect Shazia Tehmas of the Pakistan People’s Party.
Another bench of Justice SM Attique Shah and Justice Shakeel Ahmad will hear the petition filed by Afshan Hussain of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Aimen Jalil of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl. The Election Commission of Pakistan had rejected the claim of the Sunni Ittehad Council, which was joined by the independently elected members, backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, after the February 8 general elections. These seats were instead allocated to the opposition parties as per their share.