Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa


The Provincial Assembly of 'Khyber Pakhtunkhwa' is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is located in Peshawar, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan, having a total of 145 seats, with 115 general seats, 26 seats reserved for women and 4 reserved for non-Muslims.

Administration

The Federal Government appoints a Governor as head of the Provincial Government, the province is divided into 35 districts. Each district has a Zilla Nazim, in a District the functions are devolved further to the Tehsil, Town and Union Council Governments.

Composition

After Final Delimitation 2018, the composition of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seats are as under:
General seatsReserved for womenReserved for non-MuslimsTotal seats
115264145

History

In 1901 the North West Frontier Province was declared as a Chief Commissioner's Province separating it from the Punjab and thirty-one years later in 1932 its status was raised to a Governor's Province and the North West Frontier Province Legislative Assembly was formed. The first president of the council was K.B Khan Abdul Ghafoor Khan, Khan of Zaida, who worked in this slot from 1932 till his death in 1936 and was followed by the then deputy president K.B. Abdur Rahim Khan Kundi till the completion of the tenure in 1937. In 1937, the Government of India Act 1935 was enforced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa changing the pre set regulations and introduced the portfolio of the chief minister abolishing the portfolio of the president.
This minority government fell shortly afterwards and Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan, backed by the Khudai Khidmatgar was elected Chief Minister. His government resigned in 1939 as part of the Indian National Congress's Quit India Movement. The provincial government remained suspended for over three years before a minority government was formed by the Muslim League’s Sardar Aurangzeb Khan. This government collapsed in 1944 when Jabbar Khan managed to form a government again, before calling an election in 1946.
The Indian National Congress under Jabbar Khan won the 1946 elections despite a strong showing by the Muslim League. The first session of parliament was summoned on 12 March 1946 under the Chairmanship of Sardar Bahadur Khan while Nawabzada Allah Nawaz Khan was elected as Speaker and Lala Girdheri Lal as Deputy Speaker on 13 March 1946. The total number of members was 50, the provincial government of Jabbar Khan was dismissed by the Governor-General in September 1947 after the Chief Minister did not attend the oath taking ceremony of the new nation state of Pakistan. The Muslim league minority Chief Minister Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan formed a government with the help of Jalal-ud-din Jalal Baba. This Assembly was dissolved in 1951 and the number of members was increased from 80 to 85. The Muslim League controversially won the 1951 elections. Nawabzada Allah Nawaz Khan, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Girdhari Lal occupied the slot during 1947. Khan Muhammad Farid Khan, Malik Amir Alam Khan, Arbab Saifur Rahman who worked two times as deputy speaker, Muhammad Nawaz Khan, Rahim Dad Khan, Ahmad Hassan Khan, Abdul Akbar Khan, Shad Muhammad Khan Khattak, Syed Allaudin and Haji Muhammad Adeel who was the last deputy speaker.
After the creation of Pakistan, the first Election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Legislative Council was held on 15 December 1951 and the session of the Assembly was summoned on 10 January 1952 for the oath taking ceremony. Nawabzada Allah Nawaz Khan was again elected as the unopposed Speaker and Khan Muhammad Farid Khan as Deputy Speaker on 10 July 1952.
Following the declaration of One Unit on 3 October 1955, the country was divided into two provinces, West Pakistan and East Pakistan and the Legislative Assembly Building was declared as Peshawar High Court. After the dissolution of West Pakistan in 1970, was restored. The legislative Assembly was restored as a Provincial Assembly through a presidential order known as legal framework order 1970.
After the restoration of the Provincial Assembly in 1970, General Elections were held for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly on 17 December 1970. At that time the number of member's seats in the Assembly was 43 out of which 2 seats were reserved for women and only one for minorities. The first session of the Assembly was summoned on 2 May 1972 in the hall of Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, University Town Peshawar. Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak was elected as Speaker and Arbab Saifur Rehman Khan as Deputy Speaker on 2 May 1972, and opposition leader Mufti Mahmud was elected Chief Minister as part of an alliance between his party the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and the National Awami Party. His government collectively resigned in protest against the dismissal of the Balochistan provincial government. After some political wrangling a minority government was formed by the Pakistan Peoples Party under Sardar Inayatullah Khan Gandapur, he was subsequently replaced by Nasrullah Khan Khattak. The provincial elections in 1977 were boycotted by the opposition Pakistan National Alliance, a short-lived government was formed under Chief Minister Muhammad Iqbal Khan Jadoon.
On 5 July 1977 Martial Law was declared and the Provincial Assembly was dissolved. The 1985 elections were held on non-party basis on 28 February 1985. The first session of the Assembly was summoned on 12 March 1985 for the oath taking ceremony. Raja Amanullah Khan and Ahmad Hassan were elected as Speaker and Deputy Speaker on 14 March 1985 and Arbab Jehangir Khan was elected Chief Minister. The Assembly Secretariat shifted from Pakistan Academy for Rural Development to its own present building in 1987.

Qualification of members

According to Article 113 of the Constitution, the qualifications for membership in the National Assembly set forth in Article 62 of the Constitution also apply for membership to the Provincial Assembly. Thus, a member of the Provincial Assembly:
  1. must be a citizen of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa;
  2. must be at least twenty-five years of age and must be enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll in–
  3. # any part of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa, for election to a general seat or a seat reserved for non-Muslims; and
  4. # any area in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa from which the member seeks membership for election to a seat reserved for women.
  5. must be of good character and not commonly known as one who violates Islamic injunctions;
  6. must have adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practices obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as abstains from major sins;
  7. must be sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, and honest;
  8. must have never been convicted for a crime involving moral turpitude or for giving false evidence;
  9. must have never, after the establishment of Pakistan, worked against the integrity of the country or opposed the ideology of Pakistan.
The disqualifications specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 do not apply to a person who is a non-Muslim, but such a person must have good moral reputation and possess other qualifications prescribed by an act of Parliament.

Disqualification of members

The criteria for disqualification of members of a Provincial Assembly is established by Articles 63, 63A, 113 and 127. A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Provincial Assembly if the member:
  1. is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court; or
  2. is an undischarged insolvent; or
  3. ceases to be a citizen of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan or acquires the citizenship of a foreign State; or
  4. holds an office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than an office declared by law not to disqualify its holder; or
  5. is in the service of any statutory body of any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest; or
  6. is propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the Ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or morality, or the maintenance of public order, or the integrity or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan; or
  7. has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction on a charge of corrupt practice, moral turpitude or misuse of power or authority under any law for the time being in force; or
  8. he has been dismissed from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Provincial Government or a Local Government on the grounds of misconduct or moral turpitude; or
  9. has been removed or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Provincial Government or a Local Government on the grounds of misconduct or moral turpitude; or
  10. has been in the service of Pakistan or of any statutory body or any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest, unless a period of two years has elapsed since he ceased to be in such service; or
  11. is found guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice under any law for the time being in force, unless a period of five years has elapsed from the date on which that order takes effect; or
  12. has been convicted under section 7 of the Political Parties Act, 1962, unless a period of five years has elapsed from the date of such conviction; or
  13. whether by himself or by any person or body of persons in trust for him or for his benefit or on his account or as a member of a Hindu undivided family, has any share or interest in a contract, not being a contract between a cooperative society and Government, for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any contract or for the performance of any service undertaken by, Government.
Article 63A, which deals with disqualification on grounds of defection, was added to the Constitution in 1997. A member of a Parliamentary Party composed of a single political party defects if the member:
  1. resigns from membership of the political party or joins another Parliamentary Party; or
  2. votes or abstains from voting in the Provincial Assembly contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which the member belongs, in relations to
  3. # election of the Chief Minister; or
  4. #a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or
  5. # a Money Bill.