PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali officially endorsed the appointment of Justice (retd) Arshad Hussain Shah as the new caretaker chief minister of the province on Sunday.
This development transpired following the untimely demise of Muhammad Azam Khan, the former caretaker chief minister, who suffered a fatal heart attack a day earlier.
In response to Khan’s passing, a consultative meeting was convened by former KP CM Mahmood Khan and opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani to deliberate on the selection of a new provincial chief executive.
After careful consideration, the two leaders settled on the name of Justice Arshad Hussain Shah and promptly submitted the proposal to the governor for formal approval.
Justice Shah had previously served as the law minister in the cabinet of the late Muhammad Azam Khan. Prior to his cabinet role, he held the esteemed position of chief justice of Gilgit Baltistan from 2019 to 2022.
Expressing the urgency of the situation, Durrani acknowledged the crisis that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced following Azam’s passing and assured that the matter of the appointment would be promptly addressed. He stated, “I will approach the discussion on the interim CM appointment with thorough preparation, aiming to convince Mahmood Khan, as my suggestions are seldom rejected.”
A day before the appointment announcement, Governor Ali had corresponded with Mahmood and Durrani, urging them to reach a consensus on the suitable candidate for the provincial post.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
