What will be the legal status of MPAs after Imposition of Governor Rule?

PESHAWAR: As Governor Rule has been imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Article 234 of the Constitution, a major question arises – what will happen to the 145 elected MPAs of the KP Assembly?

According to constitutional lawyers and the text of Article 234, the MPAs will not lose their seats but will lose all their powers during the period of Governor Rule. Under Article 234(1)(b) of the Constitution, once Governor Rule is imposed, the powers of the Provincial Assembly become exercisable by the Parliament. 

This means the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be suspended. It cannot hold any session, cannot pass any law, cannot approve the budget, and cannot debate any issue. The Assembly building will be effectively locked.

However, this does not mean the Assembly is dissolved. Dissolution and suspension are two different things. In case of dissolution, members cease to be MPAs and new elections are held. 

In case of suspension under Article 234, members remain MPAs. Their membership continues. Their seats do not become vacant. They will still be called MPAs but without legislative authority.

The most affected will be the Chief Minister and the Provincial Cabinet. Under Article 234(1)(a), the President may assume all executive functions of the provincial government or direct the Governor to exercise those functions on his behalf. This means Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his cabinet ministers will lose all executive powers. All summaries, transfers, postings and orders of Deputy Commissioners, Secretaries and Police officers will now be signed by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on behalf of the President.

Sources said arrangements have already been finalized for the transfer of all DCs, Secretaries and police officers, and all orders will be issued within one hour after the imposition of Governor Rule.

MPAs will receive salaries at home.

Regarding privileges, MPAs will continue to receive their monthly salary, allowances, and official protocol unless a specific order suspends them. But they cannot convene the assembly, cannot move any resolution, cannot bring a no-confidence motion, and cannot legislate.

During this period, all laws for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be made by the National Assembly and Senate in Islamabad. The Governor can also issue ordinances for the province with the approval of the President. 

Legal experts clarified that Governor Rule does not bring the government to an end permanently. “Once the proclamation expires, the Chief Minister and his Cabinet are restored,” they said. “The government would come back into existence upon the end of the emergency.

“The Constitution places a strict time limit on this arrangement. Governor Rule must be approved by a joint sitting of Parliament within two months, and its total duration cannot exceed six months. After the expiry of six months, the same Assembly with the same MPAs will automatically stand revived, and all powers will be returned to the elected representatives.

This means for the next maximum six months, MPAs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will remain MPAs at home – with membership intact but without any power to legislate or govern.

Read also: Major Reshuffle of DCs in KP