Peshawar (Web Desk): The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday reserved the decision regarding delay in oath taking of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa (KP) Chief Minister (CM)-elect Sohail Afridi.
Earlier the court ordered the Additional Advocate General (AAG) to verify whether KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi was available to administer the oath to the province’s newly elected Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi.
The court’s directive came during the hearing of a petition moved by members of the provincial assembly, including the KP Assembly Speaker, under Article 255 of the Constitution.
The petition sought an immediate oath-taking of the newly elected chief executive and further requested that, in the event of the governor’s unavailability, the court should designate another competent authority—such as the Speaker or any other official—to perform the constitutional formality.
The bench ordered the AAG to submit an update on the matter before 1 p.m. today. A written order from the previous hearing was also released, underscoring the urgency of ensuring continuity in the provincial executive.
Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) also filed a separate petition before the PHC, challenging the validity of the chief minister’s election.
The petition was lodged by JUI-F lawmaker Lutfur Rehman, who had been a candidate for the CM position prior to his party’s boycott.
In his plea, Rehman termed the election “illegal and unconstitutional,” arguing that the process was conducted amid irregular circumstances—particularly pointing to the resignation of former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, which Governor Kundi had not formally accepted.
The petitioner urged the court to declare the election that resulted in Sohail Afridi’s appointment as chief minister null and void.
These legal proceedings emerged soon after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured Afridi’s election as the new chief minister a day earlier.
Afridi obtained 90 votes in the KP Assembly, while opposition members abstained from voting after staging a boycott. As a result, his opponents—including JUI-F’s Maulana Lutfur Rehman, PML-N’s Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf, and PPP’s Arbab Zarak Khan—received no votes.
Afridi replaces Ali Amin Gandapur, who tendered his resignation on October 8 in compliance with instructions from PTI founder Imran Khan.
However, the transition became contentious when Governor Kundi declined to accept Gandapur’s resignation, citing concerns regarding the authenticity of his signature. This development has since placed a question mark over the legitimacy of the succession process.
Sohail Afridi, who entered provincial politics in 2015 and was elected as a member of the KP Assembly in the 2024 general elections, now faces a complex political landscape. His elevation has drawn sharp criticism from the federal government, which has alleged that PTI maintains sympathies with extremist factions—an accusation the party has categorically denied.