PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Arbab Jahandad on Tuesday hurled a shoe at his fellow lawmaker Baldev Kumar in a protest against the latter’s presence in the assembly.
Baldev, who was about to take oath on the orders of the Peshawar High Court, had to be escorted out of the assembly with the help of security personnel.
Kumar is facing a trial in an anti-terrorism court in Peshawar in connection with Soran Singh murder case.
Soran Singh, former adviser to KP CM Pervez Khattak, was assassinated in his native village in the Buner valley on April 22, 2016. Singh was elected to the provincial assembly on a minority seat.
It is pertinent to note that Kumar was second in the list of PTI’s candidates on a reserved seat for minorities, Singh being the first. He had filed a separate petition with Peshawar High Court, seeking permission to attend KP Assembly proceedings.
On February 8, the PHC had directed the KP Assembly speaker “to issue order of production of the petitioner to administer oath as member of the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on minority seat in terms of Article 65 of the Constitution”.
The speaker on Friday issued production orders for MPA-elect Baldev Kumar for attending the session.
Arbab Jahandad asked how a murderer could step foot in the assembly. He was flanked by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Sardar Aurangzeb.
When the speaker said that they were bound to obey the court’s orders, lawmakers demanded of the KP government to file an appeal in the apex court against the PHC order.
Published in Daily Times, February 28th 2018.
