Peshawar: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday ordered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to administer the oath to Chief Minister-elect Sohail Afridi by 4pm on Wednesday.

Chief Justice S.M. Attique Shah issued the directive while hearing PTI’s petition, seeking the nomination of the KP Assembly Speaker or any other person to administer the oath if the governor failed to do so.

The court ruled that in case the governor does not administer the oath, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati would perform the task the same day.

Afridi, a PTI lawmaker, was elected CM on Monday after Ali Amin Gandapur resigned from office following party instructions. However, his resignation letters were returned by the governor due to “disparate signatures”.

PTI argued that the Constitution does not require the governor’s approval for a chief minister’s resignation. Opposition parties boycotted the assembly session in which Afridi was elected.

Read More: Sohail Afridi becomes KP CM after securing 90 Votes

During the hearing, the Additional Attorney General informed the court that the governor was out of the city and scheduled to fly to Peshawar tomorrow. The advocate general requested the court to nominate another person to administer the oath today, but PTI’s counsel Salman Akram Raja stressed that delaying the oath was unconstitutional.

The CJ noted that Article 255 of the Constitution had been amended to prevent such deadlocks and observed that Gandapur himself confirmed his resignation on the assembly floor.

After hearing all parties, the court reserved its verdict and later directed the governor to ensure the oath-taking takes place by 4pm tomorrow, warning that otherwise, the assembly speaker would administer the oath.