ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik on Wednesday questioned the legality of the decision to replace Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
KP CM earlier in the day announced his decision to step down, extending full support to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) nominee Sohail Afridi.
"I am resigning from the office of chief minister on the instructions of our party founder [Imran Khan]," Gandapur said in a statement on Facebook.
Speaking on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, Malik asked whether “a convicted person”, referring to the PTI founder, had the authority to order the change of a provincial chief executive.
“If the new chief minister is not to take directions from the federation, will he take them from Kabul?” he said, referring to PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja’s claim that the KP government had been advised to distance itself from what he called “the federal government's flawed policies”.
Meanwhile, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told reporters that the PTI’s founder had a habit of “using people like tissue paper,” adding that history was repeating itself with Gandapur’s removal.
PPP leader Ali Musa Gilani, speaking on the same show, also criticised the timing of the move, saying it came amid an alarming surge in terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where security forces were making daily sacrifices.
“PTI’s internal and ego issues are far greater than their governance capacity,” he said.
Gandapur’s removal came amid reports of growing internal rifts within the party as the KP CM and Aleema Khan, the sister of the PTI founder, recently traded barbs and levelled allegations against each other.
The KP CM had earlier warned PTI founder Khan about "vloggers" trying to sow divisions in the party and promote Aleema Khan as the next chairperson, and even prime minister.
PTI Senator Barrister Ali Zafar, however, said the change had no link to Aleema Khan’s criticism of Gandapur. He maintained that the provincial government had failed to fully implement its negotiation policy, and that the new chief minister would ensure the policy’s enforcement.