Acting on the Peshawar High Court instructions, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Sunday administered the oath to the members elected on reserved seats in the KP Assembly.

The Peshawar High Court chief justice nominated Governor Kundi to administer the oath, after which the oath-taking ceremony was held at the Governor’s House in Peshawar.

The ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, after which Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath to 25 members elected on reserved seats.

Earlier, the reserved seats members had filed a petition with the Registrar of the Peshawar High Court after their oath could not be administered in the KP Assembly on Sunday morning.

The KP Assembly session was adjourned due to a lack of quorum, and as a result, the oath could not be administered.

Additionally, the Election Commission had written a letter to the Peshawar High Court, requesting the court to take necessary steps for administering the oath to the members.

In its letter, the Election Commission requested the Peshawar High Court chief justice to nominate a person to administer the oath to the members, as the lack of quorum in the KP Assembly had prevented the process.

It pointed out that if the newly elected members did not take the oath, holding Senate elections would become difficult.

In a statement, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said that preventing elected representatives from taking the oath is a shameful act.

He emphasised that taking the oath is a constitutional right and any obstruction is regrettable.

Kundi said that the provincial government led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had once again mocked the democratic process.

He thanked the Peshawar High Court for entrusting him with the authority to conduct the oath-taking and vowed not to let the sanctity of democracy be violated.

He added that PTI had exposed itself by obstructing a constitutional process.

Earlier, the KP Assembly session to administer the oath to members on reserved seats began over two hours late and was disrupted by a lack of quorum.

The session, presided over by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, saw PTI member Sher Ali Afridi immediately point out the lack of quorum, after which the session was adjourned until 2pm on July 24.

The failure to administer the oath to reserved seat members had put the upcoming Senate elections at risk.

Elections for 11 vacant Senate seats are scheduled to take place tomorrow (Monday).

According to Election Commission sources, a complete assembly is necessary for the Senate elections.