PESHAWAR: Caretaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Azam Khan passed away on Saturday where he was admitted a day earlier after developing health complications. He was 89, according to his nephew Muhammad Ahmed.
According to family, the former bureaucrat was admitted to an intensive care unit of Rehman Medical Complex last night after he fell unwell a day ago.
The chief minister’s nephew said his uncle had invited him yesterday and discussed a plan to visit Charsadda University next Monday and was “absolutely fine”.
Azam Khan took oath as the KP chief minister in January this year after the dissolution of the provincial assembly after PTI chief Imran Khan decided to quit the KP and Punjab assemblies where he was in power.
He was a Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln’s Inn, London, and had earlier served as minister for interior, capital administration and development in the caretaker cabinet of ex-premier Nasir-ul-Mulk in 2018.
He had also remained the provincial minister for finance, planning and development in the KP caretaker cabinet of CM Shamsul Mulk from October 2007 to April 2008 and served in key positions in the federal and provincial governments.
Before these stints, he had served as chief secretary from September 1990 till July 1993. He has also remained chairman of the Pakistan Tobacco Board.
Ex-CM, opposition leader invited for consultation
On the other hand, KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali penned a letter to former CM Mahmood Khan and former KP opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani, inviting them to begin the consultation process under Article 224(1A) of the Constitution for the next chief minister’s appointment.
It advised the two to be present at the Chief Minister House on Sunday at 11am, adding that the consultation process would be concluded within three days from today.
“Since the election date is already been announced, it is expected that meaningful consultation would result in fruitful consensus,” the letter reads.
Condolences
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar remembered the chief minister as “surely an honest and pious person”. He prayed for the deceased’s family to be given patience.
President Dr Arif Alvi also expressed his grief on the news and recalled that he found Khan a “gentleman” whenever he met him.
The ECP and the government conveyed their grief as well.
The interim information minister described the chief minister as a “gentleman” and a “polite” person while caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti also prayed for Khan’s family.
The PML-N’s official X account stated that ex-premier Shehbaz Sharif conveyed his condolences, noting that Khan fulfilled his responsibilities as a civil servant with “honesty and professionalism”.
“I got the chance to work with him during the coalition government of 16 months [and] was very impressed by his passion for service,” the PML-N president was quoted as saying.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the chief minister’s services would be remembered.
Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori expressed his grief on the CM’s death and prayed for the deceased’s ranks.
Former KP CM Mahmood Khan expressed his “immense grief” at the “painful news”.
PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi and PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan said they were saddened by the loss and sent their prayers to Khan’s family.
