A Pakistani court has directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker to issue a fresh production order of an imprisoned Hindu lawmaker-elect to attend the next session of the House on April 13 and take oath of the office.
Member of the Provincial Assembly-elect Baldev Kumar, who is in jail in the murder case of Sikh lawmaker Sardar Soran Singh, had moved the Peshawar High Court against the Speaker, treasury and Opposition members of the House and the provincial government over the delay in his taking oath as a member. Justice Qalandar Ali Khan and Justice Mohammad Ayub Khan of the Peshawar High Court Bench asked KP Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar to ensure that the atmosphere during the session is conducive for Kumar to take oath.
The Speaker had previously issued the production order of Kumar, following which he was brought to the House to attend the session on February.
But he could not take the oath of office as MPAs protested against him and also staged a walkout and forcing the Speaker to adjourn the session due to lack of quorum.
Hearing the contempt petition on Thursday, filed against KP assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, provincial minister Shah Farman, leader of the opposition Lutfur Rehman and MPA Arbab Jehandad.n Petitioner’s lawyer Muhib Jan Salarzai said that his client was declared MPA-elect by the Election Commission of Pakistan on a seat reserved for non-Muslims in the KP Assembly, but the Speaker was reluctant to issue his production order.