PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Thursday again sought response of the speaker and deputy speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to three petitions seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against them for not implementing the court order of taking oath from opposition MPAs elected on reserved seats.

The petitions were taken up for hearing by two different benches.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Mohammad Attique Shah and Justice Shakeel Ahmad heard two of the petitions one of which was filed by six of the women MPAs of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl including Aiman Jalil Jan and others, whereas the second one was filed by an MPA of PML-N, Afshan Hussain.

Similarly, a bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Wiqar Ahmad took up for hearing a petition filed by four of the opposition women MPAs-elect including Shazia Tehmas of PPPP and Faiza Malik, Amina Sardar and Shazia Jadoon of PML-N.

They have requested the court to order disqualification of the speaker Babar Saleem Swati and deputy speaker Suriya Bibi from holding any public office as they had willfully flouted the March 27 order of the high court.

The petitioners stated that the disobedience to the judgment of the high court by the respondents was absolutely intentional.

They stated that if these practices were continued and the respondents/contemnors not penalised for their contemptuous act, this would have bad impression in the eyes of general public.

Advocate Amir Javed, Farooq Afridi and Barrister Saqib Raza appeared for the petitioners.

They contended in the cases of Aiman Jalil that in its detailed judgment the high court had also directed the KP chief minister and the provincial cabinet to take steps in terms of Article 109 of the Constitution for summoning the session of the provincial assembly within a fortnight positively, so that the oath is administered to the petitioners.

However, they stated that despite passage of over a fortnight the chief minister and other respondents had so far not convened the said session.

They stated that the respondents had clearly been defying the court orders for which action may be taken against them.

The bench again sought replies from the respondents and put off the hearing in the cases.

Similarly, in the petition of Shazia Tehmas and others, the bench ordered the advocate general office to let the bench inform till 11am about the progress on the court’s order about summoning of the assembly session.

However, later in the day an additional advocate general informed the bench that they intended to submit an application in the said petition on behalf of the speaker and deputy speaker, therefore, they may be given some time.

The petitioners’ counsel informed the bench about developments before the other bench following which the bench adjourned hearing into the matter directing the respondents to submit their replies.

Meanwhile, the bench headed by Justice Attique Shah also ordered to club three identical petitions of KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, seeking review of its order of March 27, with the said three contempt petitions.

Advocate Ali Azim Afridi appeared for the speaker and stated that in the said judgment the court had directed the speaker to convene the assembly session for administering oath to the said MPAs on reserved seats.

He pointed out that under the Constitution the speaker had no authority to summon a session on his own unless a requisition was moved by the MPAs.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024