PESHAWAR: Opposition members in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday said if the oath was not administered to women lawmakers elected to reserved seats, the court of law and the Election Commission of Pakistan would be approached for relief.

They urged Speaker of the assembly Babar Saleem Swati to call a session for the swearing-in of those women, saying the house was incomplete without them for the Senate elections to be held on April 2.

“Oaths are not being administered to women MPAs elected to reserved seats. If the KP Assembly session is not called, we [the opposition] will approach the court of law and the ECP,” Opposition Leader in the KP Assembly Dr Ibadullah Khan told a presser here.

Dr Khan, a PML-N member, was joined by Ahmad Kundi of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Arbab Usman of the Awami National Party and Malik Taiq Awan and Sobia Shahid of the PML-N.

He alleged that Speaker of the assembly Babar Saleem Swati was acting like a worker for his party.

The opposition leader said the recent meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur in Islamabad was a positive development.

Mr Kundi said issues were always resolved in parliament.

He said if someone had any issue with the Feb 8 general elections, it should be discussed and resolved inside parliament.

“[The PTI] ... did not receive any reserved seats under the law, while the opposition got them legally. This will not be good if the Senate elections are held without women elected to reserved seats,” said ANP member Arbab Usman.

He added that the ANP supported other members of the opposition benches and would always raise a voice for democracy.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024