PESHAWAR: Former Justice Arshad Hussain Shah was sworn in as the caretaker KP Chief Minister, here on Sunday. Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali administered oath to him in a ceremony held at Governor’s House Peshawar.

Arshad Hussain Shah was a former Chief Justice of Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan and was part of the provincial cabinet.

He hailed from Hazara Division. Consensus on the name of the Arshad Hussain Shah for the office of the caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was developed during a consultative meeting between the Leader of the House and Opposition Leader in the dissolved provincial assembly of the province. The office had fallen vacant due to the sudden demise of the caretaker chief minister Muhammad Azam Khan.

Caretaker KP CM Azam Khan passes away

According to the Election Act 2017, on the completion of the tenure of the National and provincial assemblies, the general elections are being held under the supervision of an unpartisan and neutral setup at federal and provincial levels and for this purpose the leader of the house and leader of the opposition of the outgoing National and respective provincial assemblies nominate prime minister and chief ministers for the interim setup to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. However, law is silent over the situation, in case of the death of caretaker prime minister or chief minister.

During consultative meeting, former leader of the opposition in KP Assembly and JUI-F stalwart, Akram Khan Durrani proposed the name of the former Justice Arshad Hussain Shah which was accepted by the former Leader of the House.

Later, the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali signed the summary for the appointment of Arshad Hussain Shah as caretaker Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023