A new constitutional deadlock has emerged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly, Babar Saleem Swati, has declined to summon a session for the oath-taking of members elected on reserved seats. According to sources, the Speaker informed the Leader of the Opposition that he lacks the authority to convene the session for administering the oath to newly notified members. This development came in response to a formal request submitted by the opposition. 

Following the speaker's refusal, restored members from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) through a formal letter.  In the letter, they stated that the speaker has declined to hold the oath-taking session and requested that the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court appoint an official to administer the oath, citing Article 225(3) of the Constitution, which mandates the swearing-in of members.  In response, the ECP has sent a formal letter to the KP Assembly Secretariat. 

The Commission directed that the KP Assembly hall be made available on July 21 for the upcoming Senate elections and also stressed that oath-taking of new members must be completed prior to the elections in accordance with constitutional provisions.  The ECP instructed the KP Assembly secretariat to ensure that the oath process for newly notified members is completed within one week.  However, the Election Commission also clarified that three members—Naeeda Noor, Arifa Bibi, and Gurpal Singh—are to be excluded from the oath-taking until a final decision on their status is issued. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)