PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Wednesday signed the summary sent by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday advising him to dissolve the provincial assembly. The governor has directed Mahmood Khan to continue as chief minister until the caretaker set-up is finalised.
He has also asked the Chief Minister and opposition to select a name for the caretaker CM position. The decision to dissolve the KP Assembly was taken in the last cabinet meeting of the provincial government, held on Tuesday. Unlike his counterpart in Punjab, KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali signed the summary of assembly dissolution well before the expiry of stipulated time.
A day earlier, the Chief Minister sent the summary to the governor, stating: “I, Mahmood Khan, Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in pursuance of provisions in Article 112(1) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, do hereby forward my advice for dissolution of provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 17th January, 2023, at 2100 hours (9pm).”
This comes just days after Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi dissolved Punjab Assembly as part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan’s strategy to exert pressure on the federal government to announce a date for the general election.
As the assembly is dissolved, the government and opposition will recommend three names each for the interim CM post and they will have three days to reach an agreement on one name. If the deadlock between both sides persists, the governor will then ask the KP Assembly speaker to form a parliamentary committee to resolve the issue.
The matter for selection of the interim Chief Minister will be sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) if the committee fails to reach a consensus.
According to the notification issued by the Governor’s House, Peshawar today, “Governor Haji Ghulam Ali under Clause (1) of Article 112 of the Constitution of Pakistan dissolves the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with immediate effect. Henceforth, the Provincial Cabinet also stands dissolved.”
The notification further states: “In terms of Clause (4) of Article 224-A of the Constitution, the incumbent Chief Minister Mahmood Khan shall continue to hold office to perform day to day affairs of the Province till the appointment of caretaker Chief Minister.”
The Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution binds the Chief Minister and the Opposition Leader in the outgoing assembly to appoint the Caretaker Chief Minister and sent the name to the Governor within the stipulated period of three days.
KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday night advised KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali to dissolve the provincial assembly.
In the summary sent to the governor, the Chief Minister wrote that he was sending the advice in pursuant to Article 112(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
As per the constitution, the Governor is bound to sign the summary within 48 hours and if he chooses to not sign it, the assembly dissolves automatically without the governor’s assent.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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