PESHAWAR: Newly elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, has filed a petition for protective bail in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), with the hearing scheduled to be taken up shortly.

According to court officials, a two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Naeem Anwar will hear the plea. The petition, filed through Afridi’s counsel Bashir Wazir, also includes a request for transit bail, which will be considered in a subsequent hearing. The reasons behind the bail application have not been made public yet.

Roller-coaster oath ceremony

Afridi formally took oath as chief minister in Peshawar on Wednesday. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath in the presence of a large number of party workers.

The oath-taking came after weeks of political wrangling. The governor had initially rejected two resignation letters submitted by former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, creating confusion over the power transition. The PHC later directed the governor to administer the oath, ruling that if he failed to do so, the provincial assembly speaker would step in.

The PHC chief justice also instructed the Additional Attorney General to obtain comments from the KP governor and present them before the court, following PTI leaders’ petitions demanding Afridi’s swearing-in.

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Opposition challenges

Afridi’s election as chief minister has been strongly contested by opposition parties in the KP Assembly, who argue the process was unconstitutional. They have announced plans to challenge his election in court.

Ali Amin Gandapur resigned last week, reportedly on the directives of former PTI chairman Imran Khan, paving the way for Afridi’s elevation to the province’s top office.