Opposition to move court over KP Assembly session controversy: PPP

• KP food minister says assembly session not to be hold today. 
• Says KP governor took "illegal step" of summoning session.
• PPP urges KP Assembly speaker to administer oath to lawamkers.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday said that the opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will approach the relevant court and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to convene the provincial assembly session. 

The development comes after provincial Food Minister Zahir Shah Toru said that the KP Assembly session will not be held today due to KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali's "illegal step" of summoning a session.

"The governor took an illegal step by writing a letter summoning the assembly session. In this regard, we have sought law department's opinion, however, we haven't received a reply yet," said Toru. 

He added that the governor should not become a part of the opposition, adding that Governor Ali should leave his post if he does not know about his authority. 

Kundi, during a presser in Islamabad today, said that his party had written a letter to the KP Assembly speaker after which the governor had requested to convene a session. 

"They are worried about reserved seats being given to the opposition," he added. 

"We request the KP Assembly speaker to administer oath to successful candidates on reserved seats," said the PPP leader, adding that the parties should raise their concerns on the elections on the relevant forums. 

The KP governor summoned the assembly session today after he was approached by the opposition parties so that the members-elect on women and minority reserved seats could take oath as members of the provincial assembly.

However, the ruling party wrote a letter to the law department to seek its opinion on the matter. It also moved the court as well against a notification of MPAs from the opposition parties on all the reserved seats.

The oath-taking of KP Assembly members notified on reserved seats has become crucial for both the ruling and opposition parties as it will play an important role in the Senate polls slated for April 2 for filling 11 seats from the province.

The Sunni Ittehad Council, which has a clear majority in the house, is planning to delay the oath-taking, at least till the Senate polls. With the existing strength of the assembly, the ruling party can win most of the Senate seats in all categories. The party has already nominated five candidates for the general seats while two each for the seats reserved for women and technocrats.

On the other hand, the opposition parties want the 24 MPAs elected on reserved seats to be administered oath before the Senate polls to get the desired number of seats in the upper house of parliament.