PESHAWAR: Newly elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohaib Afridi, will take the oath of office today (Wednesday), with Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administering the oath.

According to details, the oath-taking ceremony will be held at the Governor House, Peshawar, at 4 p.m. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has arrived from Karachi to administer the oath to the newly elected chief minister.

Earlier, Declaring Sohail Khan Afridi’s election as chief minister constitutional, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath by 4pm today (Wednesday), or else the provincial assembly speaker would perform the ceremony the same day under Article 255(2) of the Constitution.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also asked Mr Kundi to fulfil his “constitutional and legal responsibility” in accordance with the high court’s order and return to his province to administer the oath to CM-elect Sohail Afridi.

“You should go to KP. I will ask the Sindh chief minister to lend you his plane so you can reach KP and fulfil your constitutional and legal responsibility in accordance with the court’s order,” the PPP chairman said while addressing a seminar in Karachi.

On the other hand, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) had filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court(PHC) challenging the election of newly elected Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

According to details, the petition was filed by JUI-F’s parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly, Lutfur Rehman, through Barrister Yaseen Raza.

The petition contends that the resignation of outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has not yet been formally accepted, making the election of another chief minister unconstitutional.

It further states that the Governor has directed Gandapur to appear on October 15 to verify his resignation.

Citing Article 130(8) of the Constitution, the petitioner argued that a new chief minister can only be elected after the official acceptance of the previous chief minister’s resignation.