PESHAWAR:
The resignation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has become a political mystery with conflicting claims emanating from the CM Secretariat and the Governor House.
Sources at the CM Secretariat said the resignation was sent to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on October 8, adding that it was now up to the Governor House to take further action. However, Governor House sources said they had no record 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 was received at 10:57 pm on October 8 after coordination with the Governor’s Secretary.
Speaking to The Express PK Press Club, Governor Kundi said he had not received the CM’s resignation.
“It is surprising that a senior politician like Sheikh Waqas Akram claims that the resignation was submitted to a registrar in 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 under Article 130 of the Constitution, resignation must be in writing. “The one circulating on social media is a typed draft,” he added.
He said a resignation is not submitted simply on the advice of anyone – and if it is, it must be submitted on the instruction of the party president or party president.
“Since the outgoing CM mentioned the party founder, the matter will be revised constitutionally and legally after the formal receipt of the resignation,” the governor added.
Meanwhile, Gandapur said that he had acted precisely as per Imran Khan’s decision and had already resigned. “I will not accept any position now,” he said while addressing the media after the PTI party’s parliamentary meeting at the Chief Minister’s House.
According to sources, the PTI parliamentary party has accepted Gandapur’s resignation. He also approved the PTI founder’s decision to appoint Suhail Afridi as the new chief minister of KP.
The PTI leadership has ordered all KP Assembly members currently abroad to return to the country immediately. The party has also decided to take disciplinary action against any member who remains absent on the day of the prime minister’s election.
