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PESHAWAR, Oct 14 (APP):The Peshawar High Court (PHC) here on Tuesday directed the additional advocate general to ascertain the availability of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi for administering the oath to the newly elected chief minister, Sohail Afridi.
The order came on the petition filed by the members of the provincial assembly, including the KP Assembly speaker, under Article 255 of the Constitution, seeking the immediate swearing-in of the new chief executive.
The petition also urged the court to nominate an alternative authority, such as the speaker or another official, to administer the oath if the governor remained unavailable.
The court has instructed the additional advocate general to update it on the matter before 1 pm today.
A written order from the previous hearing was also issued, underscoring the urgency of the situation.
The legal proceedings were initiated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) shortly after Sohail Afridi was elected KP CM a day earlier.
Sohail Afridi received 90 votes in the KP Assembly, with opposition parties boycotting the session. His rivals, including JUI-F’s Maulana Lutfur Rehman, PML-N’s Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf, and PPP’s Arbab Zarak Khan, secured no votes as their parties staged a walkout.
CM-elect Afridi replaces Ali Amin Gandapur, who resigned on October 8 under the directive of PTI founder Imran Khan.
However, controversy ensued after KP Governor Kundi rejected Gandapur’s resignation, citing concerns over the authenticity of the signature. This has since cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the power transition.