PESHAWAR: Amid controversy surrounding outgoing chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation, PTI’s Sohail Afridi on Monday was elected as new chief executive of the province despite opposition’s boycott of the process.

Afridi secured 90 votes, whereas Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Maulana Lutfur Rehman, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf and Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Arbab Zarak Khan got no votes at all as their members staged a walkout from the session.

The assembly session, chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, was boycotted by the opposition members who staged a walk out with opposition leader Dr Ibadullah Khan saying that they do not want to be part of any “unlawful” process.

The election of the new KP CM remains shrouded in controversy after Governor Faisal Karim Kundi rejected outgoing CM Ali Amin Gandapur resignation, citing objections over the signature’s authenticity.

Gandapur stepped down from the key office last week on the directives of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan on October 8.

The nomination of Afridi, a young PTI leader who began his political career in 2015 and was elected as MPA in 2024 general elections, has prompted a strong reaction from the federal government, which has accused the PTI of having a soft corner for terrorists.

‘Take tribal elders into confidence’

Speaking on the assembly floor, newly-elected CM Afridi touched upon the pressing issue of terrorism as the KP has faced the brunt of incidents along with Balochistan, and said that where there is terrorism, the solution is to take the elders of that area into confidence.

“Where you are saying there is terrorism, take the local representatives, parliamentarians, people and elders into confidence.”

“The Afghan policy has to be reviewed,” he noted.

The CM-elect’s statement is to be taken in the context of the difference of opinion existing between the KP and the federal government over policy matters concerning Afghanistan.

While the Centre has adopted a strict policy of expelling illegal and undocumented Afghan refugees residing inside Pakistan in phases, the KP government including outgoing CM Gandapur refused to forcefully expel them.

The country has been hosting millions of Afghans for around five decades. Hundreds of thousands of them returned to their country in the last few years, but still around two million are living in KP and other provinces.

Apart from the refugee issue, terrorism is another bone of contention between the province and the Centre where the outgoing CM has even vowed not to allow any military operation in the province. The provincial government has also repeatedly called for dialogue to address the issue instead of physical force.

Pakistan has time again called on Afghan Taliban-led administration in Kabul to prevent its soil from being used by terrorists.

The relations between the two neighbours have recently nosedived after Taliban forces and India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) launched an unprovoked attack along the Pak-Afghan border.

The Pakistani forces, acting in self-defence, killed more than 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated terrorists, whereas 23 soldiers embraced martyrdom.

‘Champion of confrontational politics’

Lamenting that “a mindset” mocked the tribal people when his name was nominated for the office of the CM, Afridi recalled his political career and journey.

“I did not become chief minister through a ‘parchi’ [chit]. I belong to a middle-class family from the tribal districts. Neither my father, nor my brother, nor my relatives are politicians,” Afridi said while thanking PTI founder Imran.

Noting that the tribal population was happy with the decision to nominate and elect him as KP’s CM, he said that a campaign was launched against him.

Lauding now outgoing CM Gandapur for gracefully stepping down from the office, Afridi touched upon the issue of PTI founder’s incarceration and remarked that he will start taking measures in this regard today.

“I am a champion of confrontational politics,” the newly-elected CM remarked, saying that he has “nothing to lose”.

“I have no cars, no bungalow, no money, no greed for a chair [of CM]. The day the leader says no chair, I will kick it.”

The young politician further warned that if the PTI founder was moved from Adiala jail without consulting his family and the party, they would paralyse the whole country in protest.

“No one should think that I have come to this position and will deviate from [Imran’s] ideology,” he said.

Probe into Feb 8 elections

Furthermore, reiterating the party’s stance on alleged rigging in the February 8, 2024 general elections, Afridi announced to initiate a probe into how their constituencies were stolen from them.

The announcement echoes with the former ruling party’s claim of alleged voter fraud and result manipulation in last year’s polls.

Earlier this month, the Commonwealth issued its long-awaited election report, wherein it said that voters’ “fundamental political rights” were restricted during the polls.

The report, released more than 18 months after the elections, flagged the shutdown of mobile phone services on election night, saying it “reduced the transparency of the process and impacted the efficiency of delivering results”.

“Critically, the lack of digitally transmitted results forms expanded opportunities for the manipulation of Forms 45, 46 and 47,” read the 161-page report.

The observer group further said that “it surveyed a wide range of documentation that appeared to indicate that, in some cases, copies of Forms 45 held by party agents differed from those used in the tabulation of results that later appeared on the ECP website, with vote totals and turnout figures altered”.

The report said: “We noted with concern a number of factors in the pre-election period that significantly impacted the level playing field, most crucially the non-allocation of the bat symbol to PTI and the registering of PTI candidates as independents”.

Governor’s objections ‘unconstitutional’

Addressing the controversy surrounding the legality of Gandapur’s resignation,

KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, in his ruling, termed the objections raised by Governor Kundi as “unconstitutional”.

The speaker said that Gandapur tendered his resignation under Clause 8 of Article 130 of the Constitution 1973.

“Gandapur sent two resignations to the governor on October 8 and then on October 11. Both resignations were signed by Gandapur, and there is no difference between the signature in the first and second resignation,” the speaker ruled.

Speaker Swati said that all the requirements for the resignation of Gandapur were in “accordance with the Constitution and law”, citing a court’s decision in the Hafiz Hamdullah case.

“It is my responsibility to protect the Constitution and the law.”

He said that a few people do not wish to see Afridi becoming the chief minister, adding that constitutional affairs cannot be run on the “wishes of the people, but as per the constitution”

Opposition to challenge CM election in court

Meanwhile, speaking to Geo News, PML-N’s opposition leader in KP Assembly Dr Ibadullah siad that the opposition would challenge Afridi’s election as KP CM in the court tomorrow.

“We were thinking until yesterday that the resignation was accepted, that’s why the candidates submitted the [nomination] papers.”

“The election of the CM is unconstitutional,” the opposition leader noted.

Speaking in the assembly earlier, Dr Ibadullah said that Gandapur’s resignation had not been accepted and an election for CM cannot be held when one already holds the office.

As per the Constitution, he said, the CM has to be denotified by the cabinet after the approval of the resignation.

“Why are you making the CM’s election controversial? You [government] have the majority [in the house] the election for the CM can be held later [as well],” the opposition leader remarked.

Meanwhile, KP Advocate General has decided to approach the Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice on the issue of the CM-elect’s oath-taking.

Speaking to Geo News, KP AG Shah Faisal Utmankhel said that they were writing a letter to the PHC CJ as he can nominate anyone to administer the CM’s oath in absence of the governor.