PESHAWAR – The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed authorities to confirm the availability of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor regarding the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected chief minister.
The court issued its written order on the petition filed against the delay in administering the oath to the newly elected KP chief minister.
In its order, the court instructed the Additional Advocate General to ascertain the governor’s availability and inform the court before 1 p.m. today, so the reasons for the delay in the oath-taking process could be clarified.
According to the written order, the petition was filed by the speaker and members of the provincial assembly under Article 255 of the Constitution, stating that if the governor is unable to administer the oath, the responsibility should be delegated to the speaker or another appropriate person.
The petitioners argued that the delay in the swearing-in of the newly elected chief minister is obstructing the constitutional process and should be immediately resolved. The court directed all parties to submit a detailed report regarding the governor’s availability and other constitutional requirements.
Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) has challenged the election of KP’s new Chief Minister, Sohaib Afridi. The petition, filed in the Peshawar High Court through Barrister Yaseen Raza by JUI-F’s parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly, Lutfur Rehman, contended that the resignation of the former chief minister has not yet been accepted, raising questions about the legality of electing a new one.
The petition further stated that the KP governor has summoned the outgoing chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, to appear before him on October 15 to confirm his resignation.
Earlier, speaking to the media, Lutfur Rehman said the election of the new chief minister was unconstitutional as the previous CM’s resignation had not yet been accepted.
“The governor has called him for verification, so there was no need to rush the process,” he said.
He added that the previous chief minister could continue performing his duties until the new one lawfully assumes office.
“We submitted our nomination papers at the speaker’s request but boycotted the session. We only found out through the governor’s letter that the resignation had not been accepted,” Lutfur Rehman stated.
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