Peshawar High Court has ordered verification of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi’s availability regarding the newly elected chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The Court issued a written order for a petition about the delay in the oath referring to the additional Attorney General to ascertain the Government’s availability and inform the court before noon. 13 today, so that the reasons for the delay could be clarified.
The written decision noted that the petition was filed by the speaker and members of the provincial assembly in accordance with Article 255 of the Constitution and requested that if the governor is unable to administer the oath, the responsibility shall be assigned to the speaker or another appropriate person.
The petries claimed that the delay in the minister’s oath prevented the constitutional process and had to be resolved immediately. The court instructed the parties to submit a complete report on the governor’s availability and constitutional requirements.
Meanwhile, Jamiat Urvila-E-Islam (Jui) has challenged the election of K-P’s new chief minister, Sohail Afridi. The petition, filed in Peshawar High Court by Lutfur Rehman, parliamentary leader of Jui in the provincial assembly, through Barrister Yaseen Raza, claims that the resignation of former chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, had not yet been approved and raised questions about the legality of the law of the election.
The petition also stated that the Governor of the KP had called Gandapur on October 15 for verification of his resignation.
In a speech with the media, Lutfur Rehman said the election of the new chief minister was illegal when the former minister of chief resigned was not formally approved. He added that the former minister of chief could continue to function until a successor joined. Lutfur Rehman said that even though they submitted their documents at the speaker’s request, they ducked the session and only realized that the resignation had not been approved when the governor’s letter arrived.
The two main ministers
What began as a routine change in provincial management has escalated into a test case for constitutional procedure focusing on Article 130 (2). 8, who governs a minister of chief resignation and boundaries of Gubernatorial Authority.
On Monday, Afridi, a Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) -loyalist and closely politically allyed by party centers Imran Khan, was elected as minister of chief minister in the middle of the uprising in the provincial assembly. The opposition immediately condemned the election as constitutional.
Read: Kp caught in legal, political storm
Opposition members claimed that Gandapur’s resignation was not formally approved. KP -Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed similar concerns and said 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 Gandapurs resigning and said, “Ali Amin should come to see me on Wednesday – I will serve him tea and also approve the resignation. But until formally accepted, the election of a new chief minister 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 added that his office had received two copies of Gandapur’s resignation, with different signatures that forced him to withhold approval and convene Gandapur for a person’s verification.
Legal challenges
The opposition has announced plans to get a legal challenge. Dr. Ibadullah, opposition leader in the KP assembly, 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. Today we discovered that resignation has not been resolved at all,” he said.
By treating the assembly, dr. Ibadullah election constitutionally and said that Gandapur technically remained in office: “I still believe that Ali Amin is the minister of chief of this province. The Constitution is clearly stated that his resignation must first be approved.”
As the political drama unfolded in the assembly, the legal community was sharply divided. People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) announced plans to challenge Afridi’s elections in Peshawar High Court and argued that “there can be not two main ministers at the same time” and that constitutional procedures had not been followed.
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 summon Gandapur and claim, “The resignation came into force at the moment it was submitted. The governor’s interference has no constitutional basis.” He added that he had a signed power of attorney from both Sohail Afridi and the speaker, which confirmed the legality of the election.
Read more: Afridi chose kp cm in the middle of boycott
Constitutional debate
Legal experts throughout Pakistan are divided in Article 130 (2). 8. The article says that a minister of chief can resign in writing to the governor and continues to perform tasks until a successor is elected.
ASHTAR AUSAF, former Attorney General for Pakistan, told the BBC that no approval by the Governor is required: “A resignation comes into force, the moment it is signed and submitted. There is no ambiguity here – Ali Amin Gandapur participated in the Assembly, declared his resignation and voted in the new election.
Legal analyst Maha Raja Tareen repeated this view and referred to the Supreme Court’s precedent, confirming that when a written resignation is received and recognized, it will take effect immediately.
Senior Attorney Dr. However, Khalid Ranjha claimed that the governor can verify a resignation personally if there is 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. A new chief minister election before such verification is in violation of the constitutional procedure,” he said.
