PESHAWAR:
The resignation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has become a political mystery with contradictory claims emerging from the CM Secretariat and the Governor’s House.
Sources in the CM Secretariat said the resignation had been sent to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on October 8, adding that it was now the responsibility of the Governor’s House to take it forward. However, sources from the Chamber of Governors said they had no evidence of this.
In response, senior PTI leader Sheikh Waqas Akram shared a copy of the acknowledgment of receipt of the resignation by the Governor House staff, stating that it had been received at 10:57 pm on October 8 after coordination with the Secretary to the Governor.
Speaking to The Express PAkGazette, Governor Kundi said he had not received the CM’s resignation.
“It is surprising that a senior politician like Sheikh Waqas Akram claims that his resignation was submitted to a secretary of the Governor’s House. There is a constitutional procedure: the resignation is sent through an official summary between the Chief Minister’s House and the Governor’s House,” he said.
The governor said that, according to article 130 of the Constitution, the resignation must be made in writing. “The one circulating on social media is a typed draft,” he added.
He said a resignation is not simply submitted on anyone’s advice and if it is, it must be on the direction of the party president.
“Since the outgoing CM mentioned the party founder, the matter will be reviewed constitutionally and legally after the resignation is officially received,” the governor added.
Meanwhile, Gandapur said that he acted precisely in accordance with Imran Khan’s decision and has already resigned. “I will not accept any position now,” he told the media after the PTI parliamentary meeting at the Chief Minister House.
According to sources, the parliamentary party PTI accepted Gandapur’s resignation. He also backed the PTI founder’s decision to nominate Suhail Afridi as the new KP chief minister.
The PTI leadership ordered all KP Assembly members who are currently abroad to immediately return to the country. The party also decided to take disciplinary action against members who remained absent on the day of the prime minister’s election.
