— Afridi elected as opposition parties staged walkout from KP Assembly
— Afridi secures 90 votes securing a two-thirds majority of KP House
— Governor KP reluctant to accept Gandapur’s resignation
— PTI warns the oath-taking of Sohail Afridi should not be delayed beyond today
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Sohail Afridi on Monday was elected the new Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during an assembly session marred by the opposition’s walkout and uncertainty regarding the resignation of outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, who pushed ahead with the election despite the opposition walkout, announced that Maulana Lutfur Rehman of JUI-F, Sardar Shah Jehan Yousaf of the PML-N, and Arbab Zarak Khan of the PPP received zero votes.
He also noted that three members of the assembly were out of the country. He then announced that Afridi had won the election after securing 90 votes.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has warned that the oath-taking of KP Chief Minister-elect Sohail Afridi should not be delayed beyond today. Raja made the remarks when he, along with other PTI leaders, arrived at the Peshawar High Court to submit a petition seeking the oath-taking of the newly elected KP CM.
Gandapur stepped down from the key office last week on the directives of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan on October 8. However, KP Governor says that there were some objections over the resignation of Gandapur and hence it was not accepted.
During the session, Leader of the Opposition Dr Ibadullah held up a copy of the Constitution and said: “According to this Constitution, the procedure is that first your resignation is accepted. Then the administration denotifies the cabinet.”
He said the cabinet had not been denotified and Gandapur’s resignation had not been accepted by the governor. “In the presence of an existing chief minister, the election of a new chief minister is unconstitutional. So we will not become a part of this unconstitutional procedure,“ he asserted.
He also questioned the need for making the issue controversial. “If you already have the numbers, then why not wait a few days and have it be done constitutionally?”
He reiterated that the process was “unconstitutional” and said that the opposition was staging a walkout as “it did not want to be a part of this”. He then proceeded to walk out along with other members of the opposition.
Following the walkout, KP Assembly Speaker Swati said that Gandapur had sent his resignation to the governor twice and also announced the same in his speech.
“The point raised by the opposition leader, I give a ruling of the speaker to make it clear what the Constitution says: this is unconstitutional and in contravention of the law,” he said.
“The chief minister of a province is a constitutional office holder in terms of Article 130. Clause eight of this article provides for tendering of resignation by the chief minister under his hand. I rule that an election for the post of chief minister of KP is being lawfully conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the rules of the assembly,” he said.
Swati said that the chief minister’s election would take place according to the schedule issued for the Monday. At the outset of the session, Gandapur gave his “advance congratulations” to Afridi, the PTI’s pick for his replacement, as the treasury benches thumped their desks.
He assured them that the PTI’s fight for justice would continue under the leadership of party founder Imran Khan. He expressed pride at the fact that he had submitted his resignation on October 8 on the directives of Imran Khan.
He also called for allowing the democratic process to continue and to refrain from putting any obstacles in this regard. He further said that everything he had done as the provincial chief executive was a part of record and could be examined.
“In the end, I would like to say that we have a movement, a struggle and that struggle is not limited to Imran Khan. The sacrifice that he is making right now, he is doing it for the good of the nation. We stand with him and will continue to do so,” he said.
He also called for addressing the challenges the province was facing, saying that the law and order situation was more important than engaging in a war of words.
The controversy around the resignation of Gandapur took another turn on Sunday night after Governor Faisal Karim Kundi returned two separate letters submitted by the former over “disparate signatures” and summoned him on October 15 (Wednesday) to settle the matter.
In a post on social media platform X late night on Sunday, Kundi said that the chief minister’s resignation had been “returned with observation”.
He also shared a letter addressed to Gandapur, wherein he stated that two resignation letters had been received by the Governor House on October 8 and October 11, both of which had “disparate and unalike signatures”.
“Since I am out of city, and intend to return to Peshawar on the ever of October 15, therefore, you are advised to visit Governor House on October 15 at 3pm so that the authenticity of the alleged resignations could be verified and the matter is settled as per the mandate of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gandapur responded to Kundi’s post on X and said: “Finally, the resignation submitted on October 8, previously denied by the Governor Office, also acknowledged.” He further stated that both resignations submitted by him bore his “authentic signatures”.
On October 8, Gandapur said he had resigned from his role as the provincial chief executive, while the party’s general secretary, Salman Akram Raja, confirmed that party founder Imran Khan directed Sohail Afridi to assume the CM’s role.
The letter, shared by Gandapur on X, was typed on his official letterhead and signed at the bottom. However, this initial resignation letter had apparently gotten lost in red tape, with the Governor’s House denying having ever received it.
On October 11, Kundi had stated that the Governor House had received a handwritten resignation letter from Gandapur. “After thorough scrutiny and legal formalities as per the constitution [and] relevant laws, subject resignation will be processed in due course of time,” he had added.
A day earlier, a parliamentary delegation of PTI had met Kundi at his residence in Islamabad. The delegation included Asad Qaiser, Atif Khan, Junaid Akbar and others.
PTI representatives had sought support from the PPP to ensure democratic values during the election for the chief minister. They said the PPP had always claimed that it gave value to the democratic norms.
