K-P: turbulent change

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa once again finds itself in the middle of a political farce when what it needs most is stability. The province, reeling under a worsening security situation and shrinking administrative grip, can ill afford this tug-of-war between the Governor House and the provincial assembly.

The confusion began when Governor Faisal Karim Kundi refused to accept CM Ali Amin Gandapur's resignation - first claiming he never received it, and later that the signatures did not match. These reasons reek more of politics than procedure. The governor's role in this context is largely ceremonial, and the Constitution does not grant him the discretion to hold a province hostage to paperwork. His refusal only exposes a deliberate attempt to delay the inevitable. The K-P Assembly rightly proceeded with the election, bringing Sohail Afridi as the new chief minister with a clear majority. The opposition's walkout, citing "two chief ministers" in the province, was an overreaction that only deepened the chaos. If there are ambiguities, the courts can clarify them but democratic processes cannot be suspended indefinitely on the whims of one office-bearer. Both the governor and the provincial leadership must step back from confrontation and allow constitutional processes to function without interference.

What is concerning, however, is the political tone that the CM-elect, Afridi, set upon his election. His fiery speech on the floor of the assembly, branding May 9 as a "false flag" operation and repeating the related rhetoric, may have satisfied party loyalists but did nothing to inspire confidence in governance. K-P is on the frontlines of Pakistan's security crisis - terrorism is resurging while development work is at a standstill. What the province needs is a steady hand and service delivery, not more political theatre. Both the PTI and the opposition must remember that governance is not a battlefield. The people of K-P deserve seriousness. Politics can wait - security and administration cannot.