Peshawar:
The election of Sohail Afridi as the new chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has thrown the province into a full-blown legal and political controversy with opposition parties, legal experts and the governor’s office, which openly question the legitimacy of the process.
What began as a routine leadership of leadership has quickly escalated into a test case for constitutional procedure – specifically the interpretation of Article 130 (2) of the Constitution.
On Monday, Afridi, a Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) Loyalist and closely political successor by party founder Imran Khan, was elected to Chief Minister in the middle of the rebellion of the provincial assembly. However, the opposition immediately condemned the election as “constitutional”.
Opposition members claimed that the resignation of the stepping chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, was not formally approved. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi repeated that concern and claimed that until Gandapur’s resignation was verified and accepted, the choice of a successor had “no legal status”.
Kundi told the media that he was not happy with the resignation submitted by Gandapur. “Ali Amin had to come to see me Wednesday – I serve him tea and also approve the resignation,” he said.
“But until formally accepted, the election of a new minister of chief will be considered constitutional.” He also asked who would issue the message to the newly elected minister of chief while the case remained unresolved.
The governor revealed that his office had received two copies of Gandapur’s resignation and added that “the signatures on both are not identical – there is a clear difference”. This discrepancy, he said, forced him to withhold approval and convene Gandapur for personal verification.
The opposition, meanwhile, seized the question and announced plans to mount a legal challenge. Head of the opposition in the KP Assembly, Dr. Ibadullah, said his party would turn to the court to contest Afridi’s election. “Until yesterday we thought the resignation had been accepted – that’s why candidates filed nomination papers. But today we discovered that resignation has not been resolved at all,” he said.
By tacking the assembly, Dr. Ibadullah that the election was constitutional since Gandapur technically remained in office. “I still think Ali Amin is the minister of chief of this province. The constitution in my hand clearly states that his resignation must first be approved,” he said.
As the political theater unfolded inside the assembly, the legal community was sharply distributed outside. People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) announced plans to challenge Afridi’s choice in Peshawar High Court (PHC).
PLF President Gohar Rahman declared that the election was “constitutionally and illegal” because “there can be not two main ministers at the same time”. He maintained that the required constitutional procedures had not been followed and that the collection session itself had been called in in questionable circumstances.
Conversely, the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF), in line with PTI, rejected the objections as baseless. Ilf -President Qazi Anwar Advocate said the governor had “no authority to convene Gandapur” for verification.
“The resignation came into force as soon as it was submitted. The governor’s interference has no constitutional basis,” he said, adding that he had the signed power of attorney from both Sohail Afridi and the speaker’s speeches and confirmed the legality of the election process.
Legal experts throughout Pakistan now weigh in and offer sharply different interpretations of Article 130 (2). 8.
According to a BBC report, former prosecutor for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf claimed that there is no requirement for the governor to “approve” a resignation. “A resignation comes into force, the moment it is signed and submitted,” he said.
“There is no ambiguity here – Ali Amin Gandapur participated in the assembly, declared his resignation and voted in the new election. Those who claimed confusion have not read the constitution.”
Legal analyst Maha Raja Tareen reiterated this interpretation with reference to the Supreme Court’s precedent, confirming that when a written resignation is received and recognized, it will take effect immediately. “No further approval or review is needed – the office has vacated at that moment,” she wrote at X.
However, other legal votes disagreed. Senior Attorney Dr. Khalid Ranjha claimed that the governor retains the right to verify a resignation personally if there is any doubt about its authenticity.
“If signatures do not match, the governor can convene the minister of chief, just as a bank verifies a client’s signature. Until verification, resignation cannot be treated as valid,” he said, adding that a new chief minister election before such verification “violates the constitutional procedure”.
The PTI management, meanwhile, accused the governor of deliberately creating confusion for delaying the transition. PTI KP President Junaid Akbar said it was the governor’s constitutional responsibility to administer oath to the newly elected minister of chief.
“He is absent in the province and neglects his duty. We write to the Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court to nominate an official to complete the ED ceremony,” he told journalists outside High Court.
Previously, Governor Kundi had published a letter in his X account addressed to Gandapur and rejected his resignation on the grounds that “the signatures of the alleged resignation sent on October 8 and 11 do not match”.
He called Gandapur to perform in the Governor House on October 15 for signature confirmation. Gandapur replied to X: “Finally, the governor has received both of my resignation. I confirm that both carry my signatures.”
Separately, Afridi’s nomination to the top post in the province has reportedly approved by Imran Khan, led to sharp criticism from rival parties. The 35-year-old from the Khyber district was selected from PK-71 by a large margin. Afridi got up through PTIS Student Wing, Insaf Student Federation, and later led Insaf Youth Wing. He has promised to continue “Imran Khan’s line”, as a recent viral video of him shows.
(With Input from News Desk)
