PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Monday said his government had decided to move the Supreme Court against the orders of the Peshawar High Court for the swearing-in of the provincial assembly’s members elected to seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.

Mr Gandapur told a news conference at the Chief Minister’s House here that the nominees of the Sunni Ittehad Council won Sunday’s by-elections for both national and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, and therefore, the SIC had the right to the reserved assembly seats.

He said the “distribution” of the KP Assembly’s seats reserved for women and non-Muslims to other political parties was unconstitutional and unlawful.

On March 3, the Election Commission of Pakistan rejected the SIC’s plea for the allocation of reserved seats to its nominees, insisting that Article 51 of the Constitution declares that only the political parties having representation in the National Assembly by way of winning seats would be eligible for the allocation of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims through the proportional representation system.

Gandapur claims ‘distribution’ of reserved assembly seats to other parties unlawful

Section 104 of the Elections Act, 2017, says: “For the purpose of election to seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in an assembly, the political parties contesting election for such seats shall, within the period fixed by the Commission for submission of nomination papers, file separate lists of their candidates in order of priority for seats reserved for women and non-Muslims with the Commission or, as it may direct, with the provincial election commissioner or other authorised officer of the Commission, who shall forthwith cause such lists to be published for information of the public.”

It read that the commission was of the view that under provisions of Article 51(6) of the Constitution read with Section 104 of the Elections Act, 2017 […] the SIC was not entitled to claim quota for reserved seats for having non-curable legal defects and violation of a mandatory provision of submission of the party’s list for reserved seats, which was the requirement of the law.

The chief minister raised questions about “high” voter turnout in Sunday’s by-elections and said it never happened in the country’s history that more than 50 per cent of the total votes were polled in a by-election.

He said surprisingly, more votes were polled in some areas of Punjab in the by-elections compared to the recent general elections.

Mr Gandapur claimed offices of the SIC’s election nominees were destroyed in the Sindh province.

He said the provincial government had received a letter from the federal government for talks about power theft and line losses, but even before those parleys could begin, a crackdown was launched in the province.

The chief minister said he told the provincial police chief not to file cases of electricity theft until talks were held.

He urged the centre to claim its dues from Rs1.51 trillion it had to pay to KP under different heads.

Mr Gandapur said he would hold political meetings in other provinces as well to raise the voice for KP’s rights.

He said PTI founder Imran Khan was put behind bars over illegal cases.

“It is better for the federal government to change its behaviour towards opposition parties,” he said.

The chief minister said keeping in view the entire regional situation, talks should be held with everyone for peace.

“This is not the domain of the provincial government, but [former prime minister] Imran Khan has always said we shouldn’t be part of someone else’s war. He believes in resolution of issues through dialogue,” he said.

Mr Gandapur said law-enforcement agencies in KP, especially police, were targetted by militants in Dera Ismail Khan, Mardan, and Swabi.

He said had the police not checked the advances of militants in KP, the latter would have reached Dera Ghazi Khan, Bhakkar, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2024