Marwat moves FCC to restore Gandapur as CM

ISLAMABAD:

Shair Afzal Marwat, who himself acknowledged that he was elected as a Member of the National Assembly on the platform of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has approached the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) seeking the restoration of Ali Amin Gandapur as chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Marwat has argued that the process leading to the change of chief executive was initiated on directives issued by Imran Khan, who has been convicted and disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

In his constitutional petition filed under Article 175E, Marwat contends that the matter is of "profound public interest" as it involves what he describes as the protection of the votes of millions of citizens of K-P against what he terms extra-constitutional and extra-judicial commands.

He argues that when the functioning of an entire provincial executive is influenced by external dictation, it directly infringes fundamental rights under Articles 9, 17 and 2A, creating what he describes as an "absolute imperative" for the court to exercise jurisdiction.

The petition further requests that respondents be restrained from acting upon or executing any further political or constitutional directives issued by any disqualified person or any unlawful or de-recognised political entity in relation to the governance of K-P.