Kulsoom Nawaz still a member of NA: ECP

islamabad — In some good news for the cancer-stricken wife of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the election authority on Thursday clarified that Kulsoom Nawaz remains a member of the National Assembly despite not taking oath after winning a by-poll in September.

Kulsoom, undergoing treatment in London for throat cancer, remains a member of the National Assembly though she has not taken the oath, the Express News quoted the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as saying.

Responding to a letter sent by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) seeking her disqualification due to delay in Kulsoom taking the oath after winning NA-120 byelections on September 17, the ECP said she has been unable to take oath due to her medical condition.

The ECP further explained that

there is no deadline for an elected member to take an oath in the national and provincial assemblies Election Commission

there was no deadline for an elected member to take an oath in the national and provincial assemblies.

PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said in the letter that Kulsoom had failed to fulfill legal requirement “for the winning candidate to take an oath in the National Assembly”.

Chaudhry had sought legal and constitutional views of the election commissioner, putting forth the question of the possibility of reelection after declaring NA-120 polls null and void. — PTI