The controversy has shrouded the recent oath-taking ceremony in the National Assembly, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the legitimacy of lawmakers on reserved seats.
The controversy started with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) , earlier in the week, rejected the allocation of reserved seats to SIC members, redirecting them to other parties, mainly the PML-N and PPP.
The controversy escalated when the Peshawar High Court, a day earlier, deferred the oath-taking of nine women lawmakers, claiming reserved seats contested by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
In a heated session at the National Assembly, PTI-backed Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Omer Ayub Khan had declared that lawmakers who took their oath today on reserved seats had committed “contempt of court,” demanding that their swearing-in be declared “void.”
Addressing the assembly, Ayub urged clarity on whether the jail superintendent was accountable to the court or the government.
“Today, on behalf of all my opposition members, I demand that the oath taken today should be declared null and void as it has no legal standing,” Ayub asserted.
He pledged that the opposition would persist in protesting until members on reserved seats from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) took their oath.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq responded, stating that the house had not received any notice or order from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the oath-taking of MNAs on reserved seats.
This came after PTI-backed lawmaker Barrister Gohar Ali Khan highlighted the Peshawar High Court’s order, which, according to him, prohibits administering oaths to MNAs on reserved seats.
The clash of legal interpretations and political maneuvering has set the stage for a protracted dispute over the legitimacy of the oath-taking on reserved seats.
