PESHAWAR: The election of Sohail Afridi as CM-elect has sparked a legal debate as the People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) and Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF) have announced to move the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
People’s Lawyers Forum President Gohar Rehman Advocate announced that the PLF would move the PHC to challenge the chief minister’s election, calling the process “unconstitutional and illegal.”
He argued that “the election of a new chief minister could not be held while the predecessor was still in office” and claimed that constitutional requirements were not fulfilled during the voting process.
On the other hand, Insaf Lawyers Forum President Qazi Muhammad Anwar said the governor had no constitutional authority to summon Ali Amin Gandapur for resignation verification, adding that the forum would approach the court in this regard.
“I have the power of attorney signed by Sohail Afridi and the speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly,” he stated. Qazi Anwar, while terming the election of Sohail Afridi a democratic process, reiterated that a chief minister’s resignation was constitutionally accepted the moment it was submitted.
He alleged that the governor had raised unconstitutional objections to the resignation and unlawfully called Ali Amin Gandapur for clarification.
However, he said Sohail Afridi may not be able to secure Imran Khan’s release, adding that the “PTI’s founder can only be released if he decides to engage in dialogue with the powers that be.”
Meanwhile, PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar said it was the governor’s constitutional duty to administer the oath to the newly elected chief minister, but he had failed to do so.
“We are writing to the [PHC] chief justice to nominate a person for the oath-taking,” Junaid Akbar said while talking to reporters outside the PHC. He added that no one could think of betraying the PTI founder, saying, “Members were threatened in various ways, but we stood firm. As the provincial president, I will always stand by the party in such situations.”
Also, senior lawyer and PTI leader Senator Ali Zafar arrived in Peshawar. Speaking to the media outside the PHC, he said if the opposition filed a petition to stop the chief minister’s election, he will personally appear before the court to contest it.
“That is why I have come to the high court today. If the opposition tries to halt the election, we will not allow that to happen,” he asserted. He emphasized that the election for the chief minister was being held in accordance with the Constitution. “Under the Constitution, once a chief minister submits his resignation, he ceases to hold office. There is no clause stating that the resignation must first be accepted by the governor,” he explained.
Barrister Ali Zafar maintained that any attempt to obstruct the democratic process would be resisted, saying the party was committed to ensuring that the election proceeded smoothly as scheduled.
