Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and assembly speaker have filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), challenging the oath-taking of reserved seat members at Governor’s House.
The petition named the federal government, the Registrar of Peshawar High Court, the Governor, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and others as respondents.
It asserted that the speaker did not refuse to administer the oath; rather, the assembly session was adjourned until July 24 after a quorum issue was pointed out. Hence, conducting the oath ceremony at the Governor’s House is termed “extra-constitutional.”
According to the petition, Article 65 of the constitution stipulates that members must take their oath inside the assembly, and Article 255(2) mentions the term “impracticality,” which does not apply in this case.
The petition further argued that the Chief Justice held judicial, not administrative, authority under Article 255(2), and therefore cannot unilaterally nominate an official for administering the oath.
It claimed no opportunity was given to the Speaker or CM to present their stance before the Chief Justice nominated the Governor for the oath-taking.
It is worth noting that the assembly session was convened on the direction of the ECP, and that the reserved-seat members were sworn in at the Governor House after the Speaker adjourned the session