PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Friday announced that the PTI government would stop Baldev Kumar, the suspected killer of MPA Sardar Soran Singh, from becoming the member of the provincial assembly.

“We’ll consult with legal experts on how to expel the name of Baldev Kumar from the PTI priority list of the candidates for non-Muslims seats [in the provincial assembly]. I will also ask the law secretary to secure a stay order on the issue from the court of law,” he told the house.

The announcement came after the lawmakers from across the political divide vowed they won’t allow Baldev Kumar to take oath as MPA.

CM tells PA legal experts to be consulted on how to block Baldev Kumar’s notification as lawmaker

Soran Singh, a special assistant to the chief minister on minority affairs, was gunned down near his house in Pir Baba area of Buner district last Friday. The police later arrested Baldev Kumar and two others in connection with the killing.

After the 2013 general elections, the PTI submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan the list of candidates for seats reserved for non-Muslims in the house with Soran Singh being the first priority and Baldev Kumar the second.

Now after the assassination of Soran Singh, Baldev Kumar is set to succeed him as MPA under the ECP rules. At the outset of the session, both the treasury and opposition members asked the federal government to amend the relevant law to block the way of Baldev Kumar to the assembly.

They condoled Soran Singh’s death and lauded his services for democracy.

The lawmakers demanded that the provincial government announce handsome financial assistance for Soran Singh’s widow and two minor children, who have no source of income.

Public health engineering minister Shah Farman said all lawmakers would boycott the house if Baldev Kumar became its member.

“We are not ready to accept Baldev Kumar as the candidate for the house’s reserved seat,” he said.

Local government and rural development minister Inayatullah Khan said he endorsed the decision of lawmakers of not allowing the suspected killer of Soran Singh to become MPA.

“It will set a very dangerous precedence if Baldev Kumar becomes MPA. In future, the candidates on the political parties’ priority lists [for reserved seats] could follow Baldev Kumar to become MPA, so he should be stopped from being a lawmaker,” he said.

The minister said the ECP should realise the sensitivity of the issue and withhold the notification of Baldev Kumar as MPA.

Spokesman for the provincial government Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani demanded that the federal government amend the relevant law to stop the issuance of the notification of Baldev Kumar’s membership.

“We will not let the killer of Soran Singh enter this august house,” he said. Ghani demanded that Speaker Asad Qaisar issue a ruling against a ‘murderer’ becoming MPA.

PML-N parliamentary leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha said his party won’t allow a killer to become a lawmaker. He said Baldev Kumar should be hanged for killing Soran Singh.

“The federal government and ECP should be approached to change the existing procedure of becoming MPAs on reserved seats,” he said.

Saleem Khan of the PPP said his party won’t let the killer of Soran Singh sit in the house.

Zakat and Ushr minister Habibur Rehman, Deputy Speaker Dr Mehar Taj Roghani, Uzma Khan of the JUI-F, Dr Haider Ali of the PTI, Mufti Fazl Ghafoor and Bakht Baidar Khan of the QWP and Nighat Orakzai of the PPP also participated in the debate.

The chief minister said it was strange that a person (Baldev Kumar) had killed a sitting MPA to take his seat in the assembly.

He said his government would make arrangements for the purchase of a house for the wife and children of Soran Singh as they had been living in a rented house, and would pay them monthly stipend for education and other needs.

By unanimously passing a joint resolution, the house demanded that the provincial government announce incentives for the widow and children of Soran Singh.

The resolution tabled by Nighat Orakzai said as Soran Singh didn’t have personal house and lived in a rented house so it was the responsibility of the provincial government to announce incentives for his family.

The speaker adjourned the session until Monday.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2016