PESHAWAR:
The election of Sohail Afridi as the new Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has plunged the province into a full-blown legal and political controversy, with opposition parties, legal experts, and the governor’s office openly questioning the legitimacy of the process.
What began as a routine change of leadership has swiftly escalated into a test case for constitutional procedure – specifically, the interpretation of Article 130(8) of the Constitution, which governs the resignation of chief ministers – and the limits of gubernatorial authority.
On Monday, Afridi, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) loyalist and close political follower of party founder Imran Khan, was elected chief minister amid uproar in the provincial assembly. The opposition, however, immediately denounced the election as “unconstitutional”.
Opposition members argued that the resignation of the outgoing chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, had not been formally approved. K-P Governor Faisal Karim Kundi echoed that concern, asserting that until Gandapur’s resignation was verified and accepted, the election of a successor had “no legal standing”.
Kundi told the media he was not satisfied with the resignation submitted by Gandapur. “Ali Amin should come to see me on Wednesday – I’ll serve him tea and also approve the resignation,” he said.
“But until it is formally accepted, the election of a new chief minister will be considered unconstitutional.” He also questioned who would issue the notification for the newly elected chief minister while the matter remained unresolved.
The governor revealed that his office had received two copies of Gandapur’s resignation, adding that “the signatures on both are not identical – there is a clear difference”. This discrepancy, he said, compelled him to withhold approval and summon Gandapur for in-person verification.
The opposition, meanwhile, seized upon the issue and announced plans to mount a legal challenge. Leader of the Opposition in the K-P Assembly, Dr Ibadullah, said his party would approach the court to contest Afridi’s election. “Until yesterday, we believed the resignation had been accepted – that’s why candidates filed nomination papers. But today we discovered that the resignation issue hasn’t been resolved at all,” he said.
Addressing the assembly, Dr Ibadullah declared that the election was unconstitutional since Gandapur technically remained in office. “I still believe Ali Amin is the Chief Minister of this province. The Constitution in my hand states clearly that his resignation must first be approved,” he said.
As the political theatre unfolded inside the assembly, the legal community became sharply divided outside. The People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) announced plans to challenge Afridi’s election in the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
PLF President Gohar Rahman declared that the election was “unconstitutional and illegal” because “there cannot be two chief ministers at the same time”. He maintained that the required constitutional procedures had not been followed and that the assembly session itself had been convened under questionable circumstances.
Conversely, the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF), aligned with the PTI, dismissed the objections as baseless. ILF President Qazi Anwar Advocate said the governor had “no authority to summon Gandapur” for verification.
“The resignation became effective the moment it was submitted. The governor’s interference has no constitutional basis,” he said, adding that he held the signed power of attorney from both Sohail Afridi and the speaker of the Assembly, confirming the legality of the election process.
Legal experts across Pakistan are now weighing in, offering sharply differing interpretations of Article 130(8). The article states that a chief minister may resign by writing under his hand addressed to the governor and that he continues to perform duties until a successor is elected.
According to a BBC report, former attorney general for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf argued that there is no requirement for the governor to “approve” a resignation. “A resignation becomes effective the moment it is signed and submitted,” he said.
“There is no ambiguity here – Ali Amin Gandapur attended the assembly, declared his resignation, and voted in the new election. Those claiming confusion haven’t read the Constitution.”
Legal analyst Maha Raja Tareen echoed this interpretation, citing Supreme Court precedents confirming that once a written resignation is received and acknowledged, it takes effect immediately. “No further approval or notification is necessary – the office stands vacated at that very moment,” she wrote on X.
However, other legal voices disagreed. Senior lawyer Dr Khalid Ranjha contended that the governor retains the right to verify a resignation personally if there are doubts about its authenticity.
“If signatures do not match, the governor can summon the chief minister, just as a bank verifies a client’s signature. Until verification, the resignation cannot be treated as valid,” he said, adding that a new chief minister’s election before such verification “violates constitutional procedure”.
The PTI leadership, meanwhile, accused the governor of deliberately creating confusion to delay the transition. PTI K-P President Junaid Akbar said it was the governor’s constitutional responsibility to administer the oath to the newly elected chief minister.
“He is absent from the province, neglecting his duty. We are writing to the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court to nominate an official to conduct the oath ceremony,” he told reporters outside the high court.
Earlier, Governor Kundi had posted a letter on his X account addressed to Gandapur, rejecting his resignation on the grounds that “the signatures on the alleged resignations sent on 8 and 11 October do not match”.
He summoned Gandapur to appear at the Governor House on October 15 for signature verification. Gandapur responded on X: “At last, the governor has received both my resignation letters. I confirm that both bear my signatures.”
Separately, Afridi’s nomination for the top post in the province, reportedly endorsed by Imran Khan, has prompted sharp criticism from rival parties. The 35-year-old from Khyber district was elected from PK-71 with a large margin. Afridi rose through PTI’s student wing, the Insaf Student Federation, and later led the Insaf Youth Wing. He has pledged to continue “Imran Khan’s line”, as a recent viral video of him shows.
(With inputs from News Desk)
