PHC again issues production order of minority MPA in KP Assembly

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday again issued direction to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to issue production order of minority Member Provincial Assembly Baldev Kumar in the assembly for taking oath of his office as a legislator.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Qalandar Ali Khan and Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan issued the direction. The bench also directed other respondent members' provincial assembly including Arbab Jahandad, Shah Farman, Mehmood Bhetani, Maulana Lutfur Rehman and Mufti Fazal Ghafoor to submit their replies in a contempt of court petition against them.

The bench said that if the respondents failed to submit reply before the next hearing, they will have to appear in person in the case. Interestingly, the high court wants implementation of its decision and directed the speaker to issue the production order of the petitioner and take oath from him as member of the assembly, but on the other hand both the treasury and opposition members of the assembly are against the oath from Baldev Kumar as they allege he is the killer of an honourable member of the house.

The petitioner's lawyer Mohib Jan Salarzai submitted before the bench that only one month had been left the last session of the KP Assembly and that the speaker was adopting delaying tactics.

However, additional advocate general said in compliance with the court order, the speaker had issued production order of the petitioner for taking his oath, but the assembly members in protest walked out of the house.

Baldev Kumar, an arrested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf minority MPA, has made the KP Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and members provincial assembly including Arbab Jahandad, Shah Farman, Mehmood Bhetani, Maulana Lutfur Rehman and Mufti Fazal Ghafoor as contemnors in the petition.

An embarrassing situation was created for the petitioner when the KP Assembly speaker produced Baldev Kumar for oath in compliance with the court order and in reaction PTI MPA Arbab Jahandad hit him with his shoes and walked out of the session in protest.

Mohib Jan Salarzai, counsel for the petitioner, submitted before the bench that the respondent members of the provincial assembly are not allowing the petitioner to take oath as was evident from the newspapers of February 28, which also amounted to contempt and violation of judgment and order of the high court.

He argued that the petitioner approached the respondents for the implementation of the judgment of the court time and again, but in vain. "Every government functionary is under legal obligation to honour the judgment of the court of competent jurisdiction, and the respondents by not complying with the judgment have not performed their duty in accordance with law and constitution," the petition stated.

The petition stated that the non-compliance with the order of the court, spoke of malafide on the part of respondents and lower the position of the judiciary in the eyes of general public at large. It said the petitioner was elected on the minorities' seat for province of KP and in this respect a proper notification was issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

However, he was arrested in connection with the murder of Sardar Soran Singh, the MPA elected on the minorities' seat of the PTI, on which he was elected. Being behind bars, the petitioner could not take oath of his membership as first the speaker of provincial assembly did not summon/call the petitioner for oath and now when he called him for oath, the members of KP Assembly were not allowing the speaker to take oath from Baldev Kumar.