Governor Kundi administers oath to Sohail Afridi as new K-P CM

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Wednesday administered the oath of office to newly-elected Chief Minister Sohail Afridi at the Governor House, marking an end to the tense political standoff and days of uncertainty in the province.

Prominent political and administrative figures, including Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Babar Saleem Swati, Deputy Speaker Suraiya Bibi, former governor Shah Farman, senators, MNAs and MPAs, PTI’s provincial president Junaid Akbar, and the party’s central secretary general Salman Akram Raja witnessed the oath-taking.

Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shahab Ali Shah, Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed, Peshawar Commissioner, and heads of various provincial departments were also in attendance, along with several political and social personalities.

Following the ceremony, Governor Kundi congratulated new CM on assuming the charge of office and extended his best wishes for the tenure ahead.

The event, however, descended into chaos as party workers rushed to the stage to extend well-wishes to the new CM and chanted slogans that disrupted further proceedings.

Afridi’s appointment as CM followed directives from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan. According to party sources, Khan’s instructions concerning Afridi’s oath-taking and the formation of the cabinet were conveyed to the PTI parliamentary party in K-P.

Read More: PTI’s Sohail Afridi elected new K-P CM

Sources said, the newly-elected chief minister has been granted full authority to choose his cabinet from among party’s elected representatives. Consultations between Afridi and the central leadership have already begun, and some ministers are expected to retain their portfolios, including provincial finance adviser Muzzammil Aslam.

Earlier in the day, a PTI delegation, led by the party’s Central Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, called on Governor Kundi at the Governor House. The delegation included Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, former governor Shah Farman Khan, PTI Punjab leader Shaukat Basra, provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan, MNAs Mehboob Shah, Atif Khan, Shahram Khan Tarakai, and other senior leaders.

Former chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation triggered a legal dispute after Governor Kundi refused to accept it, citing discrepancies in signatures on two separate resignation letters submitted on October 8 and October 11. The governor returned both letters and summoned Gandapur on October 15 for calrification.

Also Read: PHC directs K-P governor to administer Sohail Afridi’s oath tomorrow

In a public statement on X, the governor said, the resignation had been returned with objections and released an official letter highlighting the signature mismatch. Gandapur, meanwhile, insisted that both letters bore his genuine signature.

Amid the controversy, the provincial assembly convened on October 13 under Speaker Babar Saleem Swati to elect a new Leader of the House. Afridi, the PTI nominee, secured 90 votes to become 30th chief minister of the province.

Governor Kundi had declared the election unconstitutional, maintaining that no new chief minister could be elected until sitting governor’s resignation was officially accepted. PTI subsequently approached the Peshawar High Court, which ruled in Afridi’s favour and directed the governor to administer the oath by 4pm on October 15.

The court further mentioned, if the governor failed to comply, the Assembly Speaker would be authorised to conduct the oath.

Governor Kundi, who was in Karachi at the time, rushed to Peshawar and followed the court orders by administering the oath to Afridi.