PESHAWAR The name of Justice (retd) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah was finalized as the new caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, a day after the sad demise of interim CM Azam Khan due to heart attack.
The agreement on the name of Justice Arshad Hussain was reached during a meeting between former KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and ex-Leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani. The meeting was held at CM Secretariat in Peshawar.
According to the sources, Akram Durrani suggested the name of Arshad Hussain which was also endorsed by Mahmood Khan. Justice Arshad Hussain had served as Minister for Law and Auqaf and Human Rights in the previous cabinet of late Azam Khan who passed away a day earlier. Arshad Hussain Shah had also served as Chief Judge of the Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan from 2019 to 2022. He had also served as justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
Earlier, Mahmood Khan Akram Durrani met at the CM Secretariat to discuss the situation arising out of the death of caretaker chief minister Azam Khan and held consultations over the selection of his successor.
Legal experts, on the other hand, say that the constitution is silent on the appointment of successor of a caretaker chief minister in the event of latter’s death. Immediately after the demise of the caretaker CM yesterday, KP’s advocate general (AG) wrote a letter to Governor Ghulam Ali and gave him his legal opinion on the matter.
He said since there was no provision in the constitution that shed light on the selection of new caretaker chief minister, it would be better if he made the selection in the light of article 224. The AG also said in the letter that former CM of the province and ex-opposition leader should meet and choose a name for the seat.
Following that, the governor wrote a letter to Mahmood Khan and Akram Durrani in which he invited them to the CM House for a meeting. The governor further said in the letter that the new caretaker CM would be selected under article 224 of the constitution. PTI, on the other hand, has made it clear that it will challenge any such selection made by both Mahmood and Akram in the court.
