• Peshawar High Court asks governor to administer oath, or speaker will
• Bilawal also urges Kundi to return to KP, fulfil ‘constitutional, legal’ duty
• Governor’s Office says arrangements underway for ceremony
• PTI hails verdict as ‘great news’; hopes for smooth transition
PESHAWAR: Declaring Sohail Khan Afridi’s election as chief minister constitutional, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah on Tuesday ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath by 4pm today (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 on Tuesday 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 CM-elect Sohail Afridi.
“You should go to KP. I will ask the Sindh chief minister to lend you his plane so you can reach KP and fulfil your constitutional and legal responsibility in accordance with the court’s order,” the PPP chairman said while addressing a seminar in Karachi.
Following the PHC’s order, a spokesperson for KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said on Tuesday evening that the governor would administer the oath on Wednesday, adding that arrangements were being made at the Governor’s House and that Mr Kundi had left Karachi for Peshawar.
Mr Afridi’s election on Monday was held amid uncertainty about the status of outgoing CM Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation from the provincial chief executive’s position. The two resignations submitted to KP Governor Kundi by Mr Gandapur — who is also from the PTI and stepped down on party founder Imran Khan’s directive — have been returned over “disparate signatures”.
On Sunday, the governor had asked Mr Gandapur to appear at the Governor House on Oct 15 at 3pm to verify the authenticity of his purported resignation However, Mr Gandapur declined to comply.
The PTI maintains that a chief minister’s resignation does not require the governor’s approval under the Constitution. With this contention, the party elected Mr Afridi in a session boycotted by the opposition.
The same day, in a pre-emptive move, it approached the PHC with the request pertaining to Afridi’s oath-taking.
In a nine-page order on a petition filed by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and three MPAs, the PHC chief justice said: “Keeping in view the assurances extended before this forum by Mr Sanaullah, Additional Attorney General for Pakistan, representing the Federation, and Mr Amir Javed, Advocate, representing the worthy Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, this constitutional forum expects that the worthy Governor shall fulfil his constitutional obligations and administer the oath to the newly elected Chief Minister, in accordance with the Constitution and without further delay.”
He added, “This forum further trusts that no impediment shall be caused in the administration of oath, and that the process will be completed without any further delay.”
The direction has been “issued to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution, to ensure continuity in governance, and to prevent any constitutional vacuum in the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”, the chief justice observed.
The petitioners had asked the court to nominate the speaker or another person to administer the oath if the governor did not. Their counsel, Salman Akram Raja, argued that the governor had made himself unavailable and the province could not be allowed to drift into paralysis.
After discussing in detail the arguments advanced by the parties, the chief justice ruled that following the speech delivered by Ali Amin Gandapur on the floor of the KP Provincial Assembly on October 13, “the office of the chief minister stood vacated with effect from that date.”
“Subsequently, a new Chief Minister was duly elected by the Provincial Assembly in accordance with the procedure laid down under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.”
He observed that in terms of Article 130(5) of the Constitution, the newly-elected chief minister is required to take the oath of his office from the governor before assuming his duties.
Hearing
The court had directed Additional Attorney General Sanaullah on Monday to confirm whether the KP governor had received the summary related to MR Afridi’s oath-taking from the assembly secretariat and submit a reply on Tuesday.
The AAG informed the court on Tuesday that the governor was out of the city. He said the governor had told him that his flight to Peshawar was scheduled for Wednesday. “He said he does not have a private plane […] and the provincial government could send him a helicopter to arrive in the city today.”
Mr Raja, who was the PTI’s counsel, and the KP governor’s lawyer, Amir Javed, also presented their arguments.
Mr Raja contended that the governor wanted to verify Mr Gandapur’s signatures. Accusing the opposition of intending to “create difficulties”, he argued that after a CM’s election, matters could not be delayed any further.
Chief Justice Shah, who was presiding over the proceedings, observed that Article 255 of the Constitution, which deals with the subject of oath of office, had been amended to address issues as the one presently under consideration.
Mr Kundi’s counsel, Javed, informed the court that he spoke to his client multiple times over the phone on Monday. The lawyer told the court that the governor stated that he would decide on Mr Gandapur’s resignation if legal conditionalities were met.
The chief justice then inquired whether the opposition parties had not participated in the election. He observed that the opposition had boycotted the election at the last minute.
Mr Javed requested the court to wait until 3pm on Wednesday on the matter.
At that, the PHC chief justice observed that under Article 255, a chief minister’s resignation did not require any approval.
Then, addressing Mr Javed, he asked: “Can you guarantee that the governor will be present tomorrow (Wednesday) and administer the oath?”
He went on to observe that the governor had raised objections over Mr Gandapur’s signatures on his two resignation letters. “[Even though], Ali Amin Gandapur confirmed on the assembly floor that he had resigned.”
‘Never refused to administer oath’
Following the high court’s decision, Governor Kundi told the media in Karachi that he had been saying he would abide by the Constitution. “I never said that I would not administer the oath,” he added, according to Dawn.com.
Mr Kundi said he was in Karachi on an official engagement, and “as governors don’t have special planes, I have requested the [Sindh] chief minister for one.”
Asked whether he would reach Peshawar on Tuesday night, he replied: “God willing, I will reach any time tonight.”
PTI hails ‘great news’
PTI leaders hailed the PHC’s decision, with party Chairperson Barrister Gohar Ali terming it “great news from [the] judiciary”.
In a post on X, he expressed the hope that the transition would be completed on Wednesday and the new KP government would “stay focused on public issues”.
Speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail, he said the chief minister’s election was a democratic process and the PTI’s mandate in KP should be respected and the process should be completed smoothly.
He said the PTI delegation met Imran Khan for the first time since the transition in KP, adding that the PTI founder appreciated the fact that everyone showed unity throughout the process.
PTI MNA Asad Qaiser said every child in the province knew the chief minister’s election was in accordance with the law and the Constitution.
“In the current situation, we want everyone to move forward together, but if someone thinks that they will snatch our mandate from us, it would be their wishful thinking,” he said on X. “No matter how much they try, they cannot break a single worker of Imran Khan.”
Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025