PHC orders KP governor to administer oath to CM-elect Sohail Afridi by Wednesday

In a win for the PTI, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath of office to Chief Minister-elect Sohail Afridi by 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The order was issued by PHC Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah, who further ruled that if the governor fails to comply, the task should be carried out by KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.

The court’s decision, reserved earlier in the day, came in response to a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The party had requested the court to authorise the assembly speaker to administer the oath in case the governor refused to do so.

Afridi was elected chief minister on Monday amid confusion surrounding the resignation of former CM Ali Amin Gandapur.

Also Read: Sohail Afridi becomes new CM of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Governor Kundi had returned Gandapur’s resignation letters, citing “differences in signatures,” while the PTI argued that under the Constitution, a chief minister’s resignation does not require governor's approval.

Proceeding with this stance, the PTI held the election in a session boycotted by the opposition and declared Afridi the new chief minister.

On the same day, the PTI approached the PHC, seeking judicial intervention to ensure the oath-taking process. Meanwhile, JUI-F leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman filed a separate petition asking the court to declare Afridi’s election “null and void.”