PESHAWAR, Oct 11: Former deputy speaker Ikramullah Shahid challenged in the Peshawar High Court on Thursday the dissolution of the NWFP assembly and requested it to declare the notification issued by the governor as illegal and unconstitutional.

“Under Article 112 of the Constitution, the chief minister can tender an advice to the governor for the dissolution of the provincial assembly but that should be based on sound constitutional grounds and judicial pronouncements of the superior courts,” the petitioner stated.

He said that since there was no good ground for dissolving the assembly, the court should declare Chief Minister Akram Durrani’s advice to Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai as unconstitutional.

The former deputy speaker said that the chief minister’s move was mala fide as he had lost majority in the house.

The NWFP government, through its chief secretary, the governor, the former chief minister and the secretary of the provincial assembly have been made respondents in the petition.

Mr Shahid, who belongs to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Sami), told Dawn that his party had requested the governor not to dissolve the assembly on the advice of the chief minister who had lost confidence of the majority of the house.

The chief minister had sent on October 8 his advice to the governor who notified the dissolution of the assembly on October 10.