Peshawar, October 13, 2025: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Monday warned that the oath-taking of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister-elect Sohail Afridi should not be delayed beyond October 14.
Raja, accompanied by other PTI leaders, arrived at the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to submit a petition seeking immediate administration of oath to the newly elected chief executive of the province.
Afridi was elected earlier in the day as the new KP chief minister, succeeding Ali Amin Gandapur, despite an opposition boycott of the process. His election, however, has become contentious after Governor Faisal Karim Kundi rejected Gandapur’s resignation, citing doubts over the authenticity of his signature.
Gandapur had stepped down from office on October 8 following directions from incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Raja said, “It is necessary to administer the oath to the KP CM-elect. Taking the oath cannot be delayed.” He added that the governor should have been present in the province to perform his constitutional duty, but under the law, the chief justice could nominate another official to administer the oath.
Raja accused the governor of intentionally creating hurdles to delay the process, saying the province could not function without a government. The PHC, after initial proceedings, sought a report from the attorney general and adjourned the hearing until tomorrow.
During the voting earlier in the day, Afridi secured 90 votes, while JUI-F’s Maulana Lutfur Rehman, PML-N’s Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf, and PPP’s Arbab Zarak Khan received none as opposition lawmakers staged a walkout.
Afridi, a young PTI leader who began his political career in 2015 and won a provincial assembly seat in the 2024 general elections, has drawn sharp criticism from the federal government, which accused PTI of maintaining a “soft corner for militants.”
