ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani high court on Tuesday directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati to administer the oath of office to Chief Minister-elect Sohail Khan Afridi if Governor Faisal Karim Kundi fails to do so by 4 p.m. on Oct. 15.
The development comes after incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party petitioned the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday to nominate Swati or another person to administer the oath after Afridi secured a majority in the provincial assembly.
Afridi’s election took place amid uncertainty triggered by Kundi’s refusal to accept outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation, which was submitted twice — on Oct. 8 and Oct. 11 — over discrepancies in his signatures.
However, the governor’s refusal to accept Gandapur’s resignation was widely viewed as political rather than procedural, aimed at stalling PTI’s smooth transition of power in the province. Kundi belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party, which is part of the ruling coalition at the federal level, while PTI is the main opposition force at the center, with a great deal of bitterness between the two sides.
A single-judge bench headed by PHC Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah issued the verdict on the matter after hearing the case on Tuesday.
