ISLAMABAD: Presid­ent Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday ruled out the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, in an attempt to quash rumours arising from the recent shouting match between Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

According to a statement, Faisal Kundi called on the president.

“President Zardari ins­tructed Governor Kundi to work in people’s interest and expressed good wishes for him,” a press release said.

In a fresh message of threat to the Centre, the KP chief minister warned that he would occupy the Pesco offices in protests againsts “unannounced loadshedding”.

How­ever, a source close to President Zardari told Dawn that he had ruled out the possibility of imposing governor’s rule in KP.

He said a segment in the PPP believed that Governor Kundi should exercise restraint amid “provocative statements” by Gandapur. “The same message Zardari Sahib conveyed to Mr Kundi,” the source added.

“The governor was advised that the dignity of his office required him to avoid political statements.”

The source recalled that President Zardari had imposed governor’s rule in Punjab in 2009 because a decision by the Supreme Court led to the removal of Shehbaz Sharif as chief minister.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024