JUIF’s Ghulam Ali sworn in as KP governor

PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) leader Ghulam Ali took the oath of his office as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor on Wednesday.

Peshawar High Court’s Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan administered the oath at a ceremony arranged at the Governor’s House.

Ghulam Ali was appointed the KP governor after President Dr Arif Alvi approved the summary sent to him by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The president gave the nod to the advice of the prime minister in accordance with Article 101(1) of the Constitution. The Prime Minister’s House had forwarded the summary on Wednesday morning, which the president approved the same day.

The appointment of Ghulam Ali was made after eight months as his predecessor Shah Farman had resigned from the post on April 11, this year.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani had been serving as the acting governor since the resignation of Shah Farman.

The appointment of the governor was delayed for a lack of consensus among the allied parties of Pakistan Democratic Movement after forming the federal government in April.

Earlier, the Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Peoples Party and JUIF leaders were tipped for the slot, but Maulana Fazlur Rahman succeeded in convincing the allies to appoint his man for the office where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been in power for the last nine years.

Ghulam Ali started his political career after being elected as councillor Municipal Corporation, Peshawar, in early 1980s. He served as district nazim of Peshawar. He had defeated Haroon Bilour of the ANP.

He served as a senator from March 2009 to March 2015.

The Senate’s website mentions that he also remained a member of KP’s Board of Investment and Trade from September 2012 to September 2015.

Ghulam Ali remained the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting from 2009 to 2012.

Ali is a businessman from the provincial capital. He is an active member of the JUIF and is considered close to the party chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman. His son Zubair Ali is the mayor of Peshawar.

Ghulam Ali contested the 2013 and 2018 general elections running for the National Assembly but lost to PTI candidates.