PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Ghulam Ali on Saturday administered oath to former bureaucrat Azam Khan as the caretaker chief minister.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali administered the oath to Azam at a simple but impressive ceremony held at the Governor’s House.
The ceremony was attended by Mayor Peshawar Haji Zubair Ali, Chief Secretary Dr Shahzad Bangash, IGP KP Mozzam Jah Ansari, Commissioner Peshawar Riaz Mehsud, Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, former governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Jamiate Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader and former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani, ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan, veteran ANP leader Haji Ghulam Ali Bilour, federal minister for Religious Affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor, PML-N provincial president and Advisor to PM on Political Affairs, Engineer Amir Muqam, Nighat Yasmeen Orakzai, members of national assembly along dignitaries, heads of administrative departments and noted political and social leaders.
Governor Ghulam Ali congratulated Azam Khan for taking charge as caretaker Chief Minister and expressed his best wishes.
Earlier, in the day, Governor Haji Ghulam Ali appointed the consensus choice of ruling and opposition parties, and former bureaucrat Azam Khan as the caretaker chief minister of the province.
Azam Khan's name finalised as KP's caretaker CM: Durrani
Governor Haji Ghulam Ali signed the notification for appointing Muhammad Azam Khan as caretaker chief minister early Saturday morning and duly issued the notification. “I, Haji Ghulam, the Governor, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, hereby appoint M. Azam Khan, as the Caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in terms of Clause (IA) of the Article 224 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973.”
The KP government and the opposition had unexpectedly evolved a consensus on Azam Khan as the caretaker chief minister during their meeting on Friday.
A meeting between KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Opposition Leader Akram Durrani was held at the Speaker’s House in Peshawar. In the meeting, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) KP chapter President Pervaiz Khattak and KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani were also present.
Mahmood Khan and Akram Durrani of the dissolved assembly later confirmed that they had agreed on the name of Azam Khan as caretaker CM.
After the meeting, Mahmood Khan and Akram Durrani held a press conference and announced that they had agreed on the name of former bureaucrat Azam Khan as Caretaker CM.
Mahmood Khan said the name of Azam Khan has been agreed upon as caretaker CM and it is for the first time in history that there was an agreement between the opposition and the government in this regard.
Akram Durrani while talking to the media said the people of the KP province were worried about the matter but they had chosen Azam Khan on merit and with consensus.
Both the leaders also signed a summary regarding their decision and forwarded it to the KP governor for further action.
Azam Khan was educated at the University of Peshawar, following which he went to Lincoln’s Inn, London to complete his Barrister-at-Law degree in 1962.
Muhammad Azam Khan has had a long and bright career as a civil servant in the Government of Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023