Governor Kundi administers oath to PTI’s Sohail Afridi as KP CM

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath to PTI MPA Sohail Afridi as the province’s chief minister on Wednesday.

Footage of the event showed throngs of people surrounding the two amid the ceremony.

Afridi also held up a portrait of PTI founder Imran Khan during the event.

After his oath-taking, PTI leader Asad Qaiser extended “heartfelt congratulations” to 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 […] 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,” Qaiser posted on X.

Afridi was elected^[1] 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 outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Declaring Afridi’s election constitutional, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah had orderered Kundi a day ago to administer the oath^[2] by 4pm today 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 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 Afridi.

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

Afridi’s election was held amid uncertainty about the status of Gandapur’s resignation from the provincial chief executive’s position. The two resignations submitted to Governor Kundi by Gandapur — who is also from the PTI and stepped down on party founder Imran Khan’s directive — were returned over “disparate signatures”.

The PTI maintained that a chief minister’s resignation did not require the governor’s approval under the Constitution. With this contention, the party elected 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.