Peshawar: Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Haji Ghulam granted approval and appointed Azam Khan as the caretaker chief minister of the province.
The appointment came just a day after the outgoing Chief Minister Mahmood Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Leader of the Opposition in the provincial assembly, Akram Khan Durrani, of the JUI-F agreed on nominating Azam Khan for the post.
In this regard, a notification issued today by the governor designated Azam Khan for the role under the Constitution, which states that if the provincial legislature is dissolved under Article 58 or Article 112, “a care-taker chief minister shall be appointed by the governor in consultation with the chief minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing provincial assembly”.
“Further necessary action may be taken for notification and administering oath to the caretaker chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the governor,” the notification added.
Muhammad Azam Khan has had a long and luminous career as a civil servant in the Government of Pakistan.
During his career, he served as the Minister for Finance, among holding other portfolios at the federal and provincial levels. He has also served as the Chief Secretary of KP.
Azam Khan obtained his Barrister-at-Law degree from the Lincoln’s Inn, London.
Outgoing CM Mahmood Khan had sent a summary to the governor on Tuesday, seeking the dissolution of the provincial assembly in line with Imran Khan’s decision to quit the “corrupt system”.
Following this, Governor KP Haji Ghulam Ali signed the summary sent on Wednesday as he didn’t want to “waste” the nation’s time.
Now that the assembly is dissolved, the interim CM and his interim government will work until a new government comes to power with a fresh mandate after elections.
