Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly - History

History

In 1901 the North West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) was declared as a Chief Commissioner's Province and thirty-one years later in 1932 its status was raised to a Governor's Province. In 1937, the Government of India Act 1935 was enforced in NWFP and the North-West Frontier Province Legislative Assembly was formed by Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan. The first speaker was K.B Abdul Rahim Khan Kundi, who worked in this slot from 1932 to 1936 and was followed by Khan Habibullah Khan.

This minority government fell shortly afterwards and Dr.Khan Sahib, 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 Sardar Aurangzeb Khan. This government collapsed in 1944 when Dr. Khan Sahib managed to form a government again, before calling an election in 1946.

• NWFP election results 1946

The Indian National Congress under Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (Dr. Khan Sahib) 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 Dr.Khan Sahib 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. 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. Then comes names of Nawabzada Allah Nawaz Khan, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Girdhari Lal who 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 dissolution 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-e-ulema-Islam and the National Awami Party (Wali). 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 Mr. 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.