• Kundi administers oath on high court’s orders
• Cabinet-formation efforts underway; announcement may be made after CM’s meeting with PTI founder
• Asad Qaiser hopes Afridi will help secure release of Imran, Bushra, others

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi took his long-awaited oath of office on Wednesday, ending a week-long constitutional and political crisis in the province.

The oath was administered by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi at the Governor’s House in Peshawar, in the presence of hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporters, who chanted slogans in favour of Mr Afri­­di and party founder Imran Khan.

Mr Kundi also congratulated Mr Afridi on assuming office, with the latter becoming the 22nd chief executive of KP. A notification for his appointment was issued by the administration department.

Mr Afridi’s election followed the resignation of his predecessor, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, who stepped down at the direction of PTI founder Imran Khan.

Mr 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 Mr Gandapur.

Declaring Mr Afridi’s election constitutional, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah had ordered Mr Kundi on Tu­­esday to administer the oath by 4pm 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 Mr 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 Mr Afridi.

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

Footage of Wednesday’s oath-taking ceremony showed throngs of people surrounding Governor Kundi and CM Afridi. Mr Afridi also held up a portrait of Imran Khan during the event.

After the oath-taking, PTI leader Asad Qaiser extended “heartfelt congratulations” to Mr Afridi. “I hope that, God willing, he will take effective measures to resolve the province’s issues and for the welfare and prosperity of the people,” he said in a post on X.

“And that he will also play a role in securing the release of all innocent prisoners, including Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, and Shah Mahmood Qureshi,” Mr Qaiser added.

The CM’s focal person on digital media, Yar Muhammad Khan Niazi, said that upon arrival at the CM’s secretariat, a well-equipped police contingent presented a guard of honour to Mr Afridi.

Collision course

Soon after his election on Mon-day, Mr Afridi, in his maiden speech to the house, charted a confrontational course for himself, vowing to abolish the legislative cover for the military’s presence in the province and take steps for the release of Mr Khan.

Mr Afridi said he would annul the KP Action (in Aid of Civil Power Ordinance) 2019 in his first cabinet meeting. He said that no military operation would be carried out in his presence and questioned the result of thousands of intelligence-based operations carried out against militants, stressing that military action was not a solution.

He said that Afghan nationals, living in Pakistan for the past 50 years, were being kicked out and requested the federal government and the military establishment to reconsider the Afghan policy and take the KP government, locals, tribal elders and public representatives in the loop for a positive response.

Mr Afridi also committed to taking steps for the release of Imran Khan, Mr Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, and others detained in what he referred to as “fake cases” from the moment he assumed office.

While the opposition raised concerns about the constitutionality of the process and boycotted the election, they were unable to stop Mr Afridi’s appointment. The governor had returned Mr Gandapur’s resignation over “disparate signatures”.

However, PTI maintained that a chief minister’s resignation did not require the governor’s approval under the Constitution and, in a pre-emptive move, approached the PHC with the request pertaining to Mr Afridi’s oath-taking.

Meanwhile, the new provincial chief executive is expected to announce his cabinet soon. A list of names doing the rounds on social media could not be immediately verified, but insiders suggested it may be part of the new CM’s efforts aimed at consolidating power and putting trusted aides in key positions.

An announcement to this effect may be made after CM Afridi manages to secure a meeting with Imran Khan.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2025