PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar on Tuesday claimed he had complied with the Peshawar High Court’s orders by issuing production orders for minority MPA-elect Baldev Kumar but the latter couldn’t take the oath of his office due to a protest by lawmakers.

During the hearing into a contempt petition of Baldev Kumar, KP advocate general Abdul Lateef Yousafzai informed a high court bench consisting of Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Mussarat Hilali that the assembly’s speaker had filed reply in the case.

He said Baldev Kumar was brought to the assembly’s session on Feb 27 after the speaker had issued production orders for him but several lawmakers began protesting and thus, creating a law and order situation and therefore, the oath couldn’t be administered to the MPA-elect.

The advocate general said the speaker again issued production orders for Baldev Kumar on Mar 2, a day before the Senate polls, but he was not produced.

He added that the footage of the MPAs’ protest inside the house was available and that the incident was reported by the mainstream media.

Mr Baldev, arrested on the charge of killing then adviser to the chief minister Sardar Soran Singh, has filed the contempt petition insisting that the speaker didn’t administer the oath to him despite the court’s orders.

He was arrested in 2016 with the police claiming his motive behind the murder was to become MPA after elimination of Soran Singh as his name was in Serial No 2 of the priority list of candidates submitted by the PTI for the seats reserved for minorities in the 2013 general elections.

On Mar 2, the court had issued notice to the speaker asking him to show the cause why the contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

Speaker Asad Qaisar, provincial minister Shah Farman, leader of the opposition Maulana Lutfur Rehman and MPA Arbab Jehandad also appeared before the bench.

Mohib Jan Salarzai, lawyer for Mr Kumar, said on Feb 8, the court had ordered the speaker to call the petitioner from prison and administer oath to him.

He however said when the petitioner was taken to the assembly on Feb 27, some members didn’t allow him to take the oath.

The lawyer said the respondents, including the speaker, were willfully avoiding the implementation of the court’s orders in that respect.

The bench adjourned the hearing seeking replies from other respondents in the case, Shah Farman, Lutfur Rehman and MPAs Arbab Jehandad and Mufti Fazal Ghafoor.

After the court proceedings, Mr Qaisar told reporters that he had appeared before the court on its order and would continue doing so.

He said he had followed the court’s orders on the issuance of production orders for Baldev Kumar but as he was charged in a heinous crime, the MPAs protested against his oath.

Shah Farman said some lawmakers had violated the party’s policy in the Senate polls.

He said if the media had evidence of horse-trading, it should be with the ruling party for action against the culpable MPAs.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2018