PTI’s strongman Gandapur now new CM of KP

PESHAWAR: PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday took oath as the 22nd Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali administered the oath to the CM-elect at a ceremony held at the Governor’s House in Peshawar.

The ceremony was attended by people from a cross section of society including Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chief Secretary and IGP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, elected members of provincial assembly, dignitaries, workers and others.

On Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly elected Gandapur as the 22nd Chief Minister of the province.

The PTI leader comprehensively beat his rival candidate Ibadullah Khan from the PML-N by securing 90 votes against 16 votes received by Ibad.

Gandapur, who had served as a federal minister during the PTI government, had been nominated for the coveted slot by ex-PTI chairman Imran Khan, currently serving a prison term at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

He had contested polls on a National Assembly seat (NA-44) and a provincial seat (PK-113) from Dera Ismail Khan. The PTI leader was also among the party leaders who were sent to jail in the aftermath of the May 9 riots.

The Governor expressed best wishes to the Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and congratulated him. Earlier, according to reports, the oath taking ceremony which took place at Governor House KP was marred by due to participation of a large number of people in the event. During the ceremony, the elected members of the provincial assembly faced difficulties due to unavailability of seats.

Announcement was made for vacating seats for MPAs on the occasion that space should be provided to leadership and asked them to show discipline.

A day earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali signed a summary to dissolve the caretaker cabinet on the advice of caretaker Chief Minister Arshad Hussain Shah.

According to the sources, a declaration to dissolve the caretaker cabinet will be issued before the newly-elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur assumes office.

Earlier, PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur was elected as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by securing 90 votes. A total of 106 votes were cast for the election of the KP Chief Minister.

It should be noted that the constitution of Pakistan does not give the governor the authority to block the summary sent by the Chief Minister.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024