PHC bars lawmakers from oath on reserved seats till March 13

The Peshawar High Court has extended its stay order on the oath-taking ceremony of the lawmakers notified on reserved till March 13.

The court order came during the hearing of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council’s plea seeking allotment of reserve seats.

Moreover, the court has also summoned the Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan on the next hearing.

On Wednesday, the court had barred the lawmakers for taking oath on the reserved seats and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to submit its response in the said matter by today.

The heading of the case was conducted by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Shakeel Ahmad.

It is worth mentioning here that the SIC had challenged the ECP’s verdict on reserve seats on Monday.

Moreover, the party has also moved to the Lahore High Court (LHC) to claim the party’s right to the reserved seats in the NA.

The plea was filed by SIC Chairman Hamid Raza which includes ECP and others as parties.

According to the petition, the electoral authority is neither a tribunal nor a court. The plea further requested that the SIC must get the reserved seats as per the proportion of seats in the Punjab Assembly.

The petition further stated that the electoral body’s decision pertaining to the matter was in excess of its authority.