Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Saturday acknowledged receiving Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation, saying that it will be processed after ‘thorough scrutiny’.
The KP governor — in a post on X — said that his office received Gandapur’s handwritten resignation, dated October 11, at 2:30pm.
“After thorough scrutiny and legal formalities as per the Constitution [and] relevant laws, subject resignation will be processed in due course of time,” Kundi added.
Gandapur — a firebrand Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader — stepped down from the post of KP CM on October 8, hours after party leaders announced Sohail Afridi’s nomination for the post.
“In respectful compliance of the orders of my leader, and founding PTI chairman, Imran Khan, it is my honour to tender my resignation from the Office of the Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he wrote in a post on X at the time.
Brigadier (retd) Muhammad Musaddiq Abbasi, special assistant to the chief minister on anti-corruption, delivered Gandapur’s resignation to the Governor House.
Governor Kundi had previously said that Gandapur’s resignation could be returned if any constitutional or legal ambiguity is found in it.
Speaking on Geo News‘ morning programme “Geo Pakistan” on October 9, Kundi said he would review the resignation once he receives it, to determine the reasons behind Gandapur’s decision.
“If there is any legal or constitutional ambiguity, the resignation can be returned,” he added.
However, KP Law Minister Aftab Alam said that the chief minister of a province can resign any time in line with the Article 130 of the Constitution.
“The chief minister has tendered his resignation, and it is sufficient under the law,” he said, while speaking to Geo News.
He was of the view that the KP governor’s response to the Gandapur’s resignation was a mere formality, saying that he has directed KP Assembly speaker to proceed with the process of electing a new chief minister.
“We will wait a few hours or a day for the governor to accept the resignation. If it is not accepted, we will proceed with the KP Assembly session,” Alam added.
