Pakistan's new KP CM takes oath after two days of delay

Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a new chief minister after Sohail Khan Afridi, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed lawmaker, was officially sworn in on Wednesday.

The oath was administered by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi at the Governor House in Peshawar.

The ceremony followed a Peshawar High Court directive ordering Governor Kundi to administer the oath to Afridi on Wednesday. Chief Justice Attique Shah issued the ruling after hearing a constitutional petition filed by the PTI seeking Afridi’s immediate swearing-in under Article 255 of Pakistan’s Constitution.

Afridi’s appointment comes after several days of political uncertainty in the province following the resignation of former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. The governor’s absence from Peshawar had delayed the oath-taking, prompting the PTI to approach the court for intervention.

The 35-year-old Afridi was elected chief minister last week, securing 90 votes in the 115-member provincial assembly. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote, arguing it was unconstitutional since Gandapur’s resignation had not been formally accepted by the governor.

Afridi took the oath amid enthusiastic celebrations from PTI supporters who attended the ceremony, signaling a temporary resolution to the province’s leadership deadlock.