Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) is busy choosing new chief minister at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without once waiting for the formal acceptance and review of Ali Amin Gandapurs resigning.
Such a movement can trigger a constitutional crisis and block the election itself. However, PTI’s majority wants the parliamentary party in KP to continue with the election of Sohail Afridi as the new chief minister after Gandapurs resign. Most leaders seem to be eager to end the transition quickly, but several senior lawyers believe such a haste could be legally fought back.
In their opinion, the Minister of Chief’s office is only available when resignation is accepted by the governor. Without such acceptance and in the absence of an official notification, the position cannot be legally declared unemployed, and therefore the election of a new minister of chief would lead to legal battles.
“The cabinet is dissolved only after the Minister of Chief’s resignation is accepted. Until then, Ali Amin Gandapur is still the constitutional proprietor of the office,” said a senior legal expert.
It was even discussed within PTI that in the past, PTI parliamentarians were not easily accepted, which forced the party to seek legal intervention. They warned that ignoring codal formalities this time would not only invite legal challenges but can also delay or completely block Sohail Afridi’s choice as CM.
“It seems that someone within PTI is playing a game to block the election of the new chief minister,” noted a senior PTI leader who suggested possible internal maneuvering.
Party sources confirmed that PTI intends to hold the election “as soon as possible”, although the Governor’s House has not yet accepted Gandapur’s resignation.
Legal experts maintain that the procedure without this crucial step would make the whole process legally deficient. “Any election held in such circumstances will be invalid in the eyes of the law,” it is even arrested within the party.
With divisions elaborated inside PTI and the legal ambiguity expanded, the haste risks replacing Gandapur pushing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into another phase of political and constitutional uncertainty.
Originally published in the news
