PESHAWAR:
The election of Sohail Afridi as the new Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has plunged the province into a legal and political controversy, with opposition parties, legal experts and the governor’s office openly questioning the legitimacy of the process.
What began as a routine change of leadership has quickly become a test case for constitutional procedure – specifically, the interpretation of Article 130(8) of the Constitution, which governs the resignation of prime ministers – and the limits of gubernatorial authority.
On Monday, Afridi, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) loyalist and close political supporter of party founder Imran Khan, was elected prime minister amid uproar in the provincial assembly. The opposition, however, immediately denounced the elections as “unconstitutional.”
Opposition members argued that outgoing Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation had not been formally approved. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi echoed that concern, stating that until Gandapur’s resignation was verified and accepted, the election of a successor had “no legal value”.
Kundi told the media that he was not satisfied with the resignation tendered by Gandapur. “Ali Amin should come to see me on Wednesday; I will serve him tea and also approve his resignation,” he said.
“But until it is formally accepted, the election of a new prime minister will be considered unconstitutional.” He also questioned who would issue the notification to the newly elected chief minister while the matter remained unresolved.
The governor revealed that his office had received two copies of Gandapur’s resignation, adding that “the signatures of both are not identical, there is a clear difference.” This discrepancy, he said, forced him to withhold approval and summon Gandapur for in-person verification.
Meanwhile, the opposition seized on the issue and announced plans to file a legal challenge. KP Assembly opposition leader Dr Ibadullah said his party would go to court to challenge Afridi’s election. “Until yesterday we believed that the resignation had been accepted, which is why the candidates submitted their nomination papers. But today we discovered that the resignation issue has not been resolved at all,” he said.
Addressing the assembly, Dr Ibadullah declared that the elections were unconstitutional as technically Gandapur was still in office. “I still believe that Ali Amin is the Chief Minister of this province. The Constitution in my hand clearly states that his resignation must first be approved,” he said.
As the political theater unfolded inside the assembly, the legal community became sharply divided outside. The People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) announced plans to contest Afridi’s election in the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
PLF president Gohar Rahman declared the elections “unconstitutional and illegal” because “there cannot be two chief ministers at the same time.” He argued that the required constitutional procedures had not been followed and that the assembly session itself had been convened in questionable circumstances.
On the contrary, the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF), aligned with the PTI, dismissed the objections as unfounded. ILF president Qazi Anwar Advocate said the governor “had no authority to summon Gandapur” for verification.
“The resignation became effective at the time of its presentation. The governor’s interference has no constitutional basis,” he stated, adding that he had in his possession the power of attorney signed by both Sohail Afridi and the president of the Assembly, which confirms the legality of the electoral process.
Legal experts from across Pakistan are weighing in and offering markedly different interpretations of Article 130(8). The article states that a prime minister may resign by writing signed by him to the governor and that he continues to perform his duties until a successor is elected.
According to a BBC report, Pakistan’s former Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf argued that there is no need for the governor to “approve” a resignation. “A waiver goes into effect the moment it is signed and submitted,” he said.
“There is no ambiguity here: Ali Amin Gandapur attended the assembly, declared his resignation and voted in the new elections. Those who claim there is confusion have not read the Constitution.”
Legal analyst Maha Raja Tareen echoed this interpretation, citing Supreme Court precedents confirming that once a written resignation is received and acknowledged, it takes effect immediately. “No additional approval or notification is necessary: the office is vacated at that moment,” he wrote in X.
However, other legal voices disagreed. Senior advocate Dr Khalid Ranjha maintained that the governor reserves the right to personally verify a resignation if there are doubts about its authenticity.
“If the signatures do not match, the governor can summon the prime minister, just as a bank verifies a customer’s signature. Until verification, the resignation cannot be considered valid,” he said, adding that the election of a new prime minister before such verification “violates the constitutional procedure.”
Meanwhile, the PTI leadership accused the governor of deliberately creating confusion to delay the transition. PTI KP Chairman Junaid Akbar said it was the constitutional responsibility of the governor to administer oath to the newly elected prime minister.
“He is absent from the province, neglecting his duty. We are writing to the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court to appoint an official to conduct the oath-taking ceremony,” he told reporters outside the high court.
Earlier, Governor Kundi had posted a letter addressed to Gandapur on his
He summoned Gandapur to appear at the Governor House on October 15 to verify the signature. Gandapur responded in X: “At last, the governor has received my two letters of resignation. I confirm that both bear my signatures.”
Separately, Afridi’s nomination for the province’s top job, reportedly backed by Imran Khan, has drawn heavy criticism from rival parties. The 35-year-old from Khyber district was elected by a wide margin from PK-71. Afridi rose through the ranks in the PTI’s student wing, the Insaf Students Federation, and later headed Insaf’s youth wing. He has vowed to continue “the line of Imran Khan”, as a recent viral video of him shows.
(With contributions from News Desk)
