Pak court directs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly speaker to administer oath to CM-elect if governor fails to do so

Peshawar, Oct 14 (PTI) A Pakistani court on Tuesday ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath to Chief Minister-elect Sohail Afridi, directing that Assembly Speaker Babur Saleem Swati perform the ceremony if the governor fails to do so.

The Peshawar High Court’s decision for the swearing in of Afridi on Wednesday by 4 pm was reserved earlier today, coming after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed an application seeking the nomination of the assembly speaker or any other person “considered appropriate” in place of the governor to administer the oath to Afridi.

Afridi’s election on Monday was held amid uncertainty regarding the status of Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation from the provincial chief minister’s position.

The two resignations submitted to Governor Kundi by Gandapur, who stepped down on party founder Imran Khan’s directive, have been returned earlier over “disparate signatures”.

But, PTI maintains that there is no such provision for the governor's approval of the chief minister's resignation. With this contention, the party elected Afridi in a session which was boycotted by the opposition.

The same day, in a pre-emptive move, the PTI approached the High Court with the request to nominate KP Assembly Speaker Swati or any other person deemed appropriate in place of Governor Kundi to administer the oath to Afridi.

The court had then directed Additional Attorney General (AAG) Sanaullah to confirm whether the KP governor had received the summary related to Afridi’s oath-taking from the assembly secretariat and file a reply today.

Sanaullah informed the court today that the governor was out of the city and that the governor had told him that his flight to Peshawar was scheduled for tomorrow.  “He said he does not have a private plane, and the provincial government could send him a helicopter to arrive in the city today,” said AAG Sanaullah.

Moreover, the advocate general requested the court to nominate a person to swear Afridi in and ensure that the oath-taking took place today.

Counsel for PTI secretary general Salman Akram Raja and the KP governor’s lawyer, Amir Javed, also presented their arguments.

Raja contended that the governor wants to verify Gandapur’s signatures. Accusing the opposition of intending to “create difficulties”, he argued that after a chief minister’s election, matters could not be delayed any further.

Peshawar High Court Chief Justice S M Attique Shah, who was presiding over the proceedings, observed that Article 255 of the Constitution, which deals with the subject of oath of office, had been amended to address issues as the one presently under consideration.

Kundi’s counsel, Javed, informed the court that he spoke to his client multiple times over the phone yesterday. The lawyer told the court that the governor stated that he would decide on Gandapur’s resignation if legal conditionalities were met.

At that, the chief justice observed that under Article 255, a chief minister’s resignation did not require any approval.

The court went on to observe that the governor had raised objections over Gandapur’s signatures on his two resignation letters. Gandapur confirmed on the assembly floor that he had resigned.

He assured the court that the governor would make a decision tomorrow in accordance with the Constitution.

Upon enquiring whether the election schedule for the chief minister's post had been challenged, the governor's lawyer stated that due to the court being closed, no application for the same was filed.

Eventually, the court reserved its decision on the matter and later ruled that the governor should administer the oath to Afridi by 4 pm tomorrow. PTI AYZ SKS SKS GSP GSP