Leader takes oath as member of KP assembly for one day

JAILED HINDU

An imprisoned minority leader in Pakistan, who is facing trial in the murder case of a Sikh lawmaker, was on Sunday administered oath as a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assembly, a day before dissolution of the provincial legislature.

Baldev Kumar of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was administered the oath on the orders of the Peshawar High Court.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be dissolved on May 28 after completion of its mandated period.

Speaker Asaq Qaisar administered the oath to Kumar who is presently in jail facing murder charges of Sardar Soran Singh.

Singh, a Sikh lawmaker from PTI and the special assistant to the chief minister, was shot dead in April 2016 in Buner district. He was elected to the provincial assembly on a minority seat.

After Singh's murder, Kumar was declared MPAelect by the Election Commission of Pakistan. However, he has been in jail since 2016 with the seat lying vacant.

After taking the oath, Kumar signed the register of the assembly members and became a member of the house for a day.

The assembly session was called for a day for the passage of resolution seeking merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the 31st amendment passed by Parliament.