Mystery surrounds CM Gandapur's resignation

The resignation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has become a political mystery with conflicting claims emerging from the CM's Secretariat and the Governor's House.

Sources at the CM's Secretariat said the resignation had been sent to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on October 8, adding that it was now the Governor's House's responsibility to proceed further. However, Governor House sources said they had no record of it.

In response, senior PTI leader Sheikh Waqas Akram shared a copy of the acknowledgement of the resignation's receipt by the Governor House staff, stating that it had been received at 10:57 pm on October 8 after coordination with the Governor's secretary.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Governor Kundi said he had not received the CM's resignation.

"It is surprising that a senior politician like Sheikh Waqas Akram is claiming it was submitted to a clerk at the Governor House. There is a constitutional procedure—the resignation is sent through an official summary between the Chief Minister's House and the Governor House," he said.

The governor said that, under Article 130 of the Constitution, a resignation must be in written form. "The one circulating on social media is a typed draft," he added.

He said a resignation is not submitted merely on anyone's advice — and if it is, it must come on the direction of the party president or chairman.

"Since the outgoing CM has mentioned the party founder, the matter will be reviewed constitutionally and legally after the resignation is officially received," the governor added.

Meanwhile Gandapur said he acted precisely in accordance with Imran Khan's decision and has already resigned. "I will not accept any position now," he declared while talking to the media after the PTI parliamentary party meeting at the Chief Minister's House.

According to sources, the PTI parliamentary party accepted Gandapur's resignation. It also endorsed the PTI founder's decision to nominate Suhail Afridi as the new K-P chief minister.

The PTI leadership directed all K-P Assembly members currently abroad to immediately return to the country. The party also decided to take disciplinary action against any members who remain absent on the day of the chief minister's election.