PTI’s Suhail Afridi sworn in as chief minister of Pakistan’s KPK province

Peshawar, Oct 15 (PTI)  Suhail Afridi, leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was sworn in as the 30th Chief Minister of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province on Wednesday evening, a day after a court ordered the governor to administer the oath.   Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath to Sohail Afridi, nominated by PTI founder and jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

Kundi administered the oath to PTI MPA (Member of the Provincial Assembly) Sohail Afridi at the Governor's House in Peshawar.

Afridi was elected the new KP chief executive on Monday during an assembly session marred by the opposition’s walkout and amid the prevailing uncertainty regarding the resignation of outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Declaring Afridi’s election constitutional, PHC’s Chief Justice SM Attique Shah had ordered Kundi a day ago to administer the oath by 4 pm on Wednesday or else the provincial assembly speaker would perform the ceremony the same day under Article 255(2) of the Constitution.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had subsequently also asked Kundi to fulfil his “constitutional and legal responsibility” in accordance with the high court’s order and return to his province to administer the oath to Afridi.

Following the PHC’s order, a spokesperson for Kundi had said the governor would administer the oath, adding that arrangements were being made at the Governor’s House.

Afridi’s election was held amid uncertainty about the status of Gandapur’s resignation from the provincial chief executive’s position.  The two resignations submitted to Governor Kundi by Gandapur, who is also from the PTI and stepped down on party founder Imran Khan’s directive, were returned over “disparate signatures”.

The PTI maintained that a chief minister’s resignation did not require the governor’s approval under the Constitution. PTI AYZ RD RD