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 take place shortly.
According to court officials, a two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Naeem Anwar will hear the application. The petition was submitted through Afridi’s legal counsel, Bashir Wazir.
Also read: Who is newly nominated KP chief minister Sohail Afridi?
In addition to the protective bail, Afridi is also seeking transit bail, which will be taken up in a subsequent hearing. The reasons for the bail request have not yet been disclosed publicly.
ROLLER COASTER RIDE OF CM OATH
Sohail Afridi took oath of office in a ceremony held in Peshawar on Wednesday. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath while a large number of party workers attended the ceremony.
The chief minister’s oath had been a matter of much uncertainty until Wednesday, with the governor rejecting former CM’s two resignation letters. The election of the CM is also still open to debate among the opposition circles in KP assembly.
However, the PHC had directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor to administer the oath to Sohail Afridi, after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders moved the court for oath taking issue. The court ruled that if the governor failed to do so, the provincial assembly speaker could administer the oath instead.
The PHC chief justice had also directed the Additional Attorney General to seek comments from the KP governor and present them before the court.
Also read: PHC orders KP governor to administer oath to CM-elect Sohail Afridi by 4pm tomorrow
Former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur resigned from his position last week on the directives of former party chairman Imran Khan. Sohail Afridi’s election as the new chief minister is also being dubbed as unconstitutional by the KP opposition, which has also announced plans to challenge the election in court.