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PESHAWAR: Justice (retd) Arshad Hussain Shah was sworn in as the new interim chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday. KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali administered the oath at a ceremony held at the Governor House.
Attendees at the ceremony included Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, the inspector general of police, advocate general, former provincial ministers, and other notable personalities.
Earlier in the day, the governor endorsed the appointment of Shah as the new interim chief executive of the province by signing the summary.
This development followed the passing of Muhammad Azam Khan, the previous caretaker chief minister, who had suffered a heart attack a day earlier. Azam had assumed the role of interim CM in January after the dissolution of the provincial assembly by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government.
After Azam’s demise, a consultative meeting between former KP CM Mahmood Khan and opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani took place to discuss the appointment of the new provincial chief executive. The two leaders finalized Shah’s name and submitted the summary to the governor for approval.
Hailing from Abbottabad, Shah had been serving as the law minister in former CM Muhammad Azam Khan’s cabinet. Prior to joining the cabinet, he had also held the position of chief justice of Gilgit Baltistan from 2019-2022.
In anticipation of the meeting, Durrani acknowledged that KP faced a crisis following Azam’s death and expressed confidence in resolving the appointment matter on the same day.
He stated, “I will discuss the appointment of the interim CM with preparation. I will also convince Mahmood Khan, as no one rejects my suggestions,” as he had mentioned before the meeting.
On the preceding Saturday, Governor Ali had written a letter to Mahmood and Durrani, urging them to decide on a name for the provincial post.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
