KP plunges into crisis as caretaker CM dies

PESHAWAR/ CHARSADDA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan passed away due to cardiac arrest on Saturday. He was 90.

Azam was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in his native Prang village in Charsadda district. A large number of people, including Governor Ghulam Ali, Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, politicians as well as serving and retired officials attended his funeral.

The former chief minister had developed some health complications a day earlier for which he was admitted to a private hospital, Rahman Medical Institute (RMI), in the provincial capital.

The private hospital later issued a statement saying Azam Khan was admitted to the RMI at 10:08 pm on November 10 with severe diarhoea and vomiting of four-day duration.

“Following admission, he underwent stabilisation, baseline investigations, and an abdominal CT scan which revealed obstructed inguinal hernia. Throughout the night, Azam Khan remained stable; however, on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 9:00 am, he experienced a sudden collapse, likely attributable to a severe cardiac event. Despite extensive resuscitation efforts and CPR administered in the ICU for approximately 90 minutes, he could not be revived,” the hospital in a statement explained.

Azam Khan was officially declared dead at 10:30 am on November 11, the RMI added in the statement. According to officials at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Azam Khan had not been feeling well for the last few days and skipped the cabinet meeting on Friday.

“He was having some gastroenterology issues for the last few days but came to office and held a meeting with a delegation of UNHCR. He then returned home for Friday prayer and then informed relevant officials that he would not be able to chair the cabinet meeting scheduled after Friday prayer,” a government official told The News on condition of anonymity.

He said caretaker senior minister, Syed Masood Shah Bacha, also a close relative of Azam Khan, then chaired the cabinet meeting.

The sudden demise of the caretaker chief minister has sent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into a constitutional crisis. According to legal experts and senior government officials, the caretaker cabinet has ceased to exist and the leader of the house and leader of the opposition would again meet to nominate someone for the position of acting chief minister.

“As per the Constitution, the government means the chief minister and his cabinet ministers. When the chief minister is no longer available, the cabinet is technically dissolved,” a senior government official argued.

Pleading anonymity, he said KP Chief Secretary Nadim Aslam Chaudhry and Advocate General Aamir Javed had started consultations with legal experts to find a solution to the issue.

According to sources, the advocate general held a detailed meeting with Governor Ghulam Ali on Saturday night. “The governor has invited the former leader of the house and opposition leader of the previous provincial assembly to a meeting to develop consensus on one name within three days and send it to the governor to be announced as next caretaker chief minister,” he added.

According to the official, the three-day period has already started from Saturday and both of them, leader of the house and opposition, will need to nominate someone to the governor in the next two days.

Meanwhile, caretaker Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi said that after the death of KP CM, the procedure given in the Constitution will be followed. In a post on X, he said the spirit of the Constitution was very clear.

The governor, chief secretary, and the entire provincial government will perform their duties under the Constitution, Solangi added. There was no crisis and the new KP CM will be appointed soon, he maintained. He ruled out any room for any kind of speculation.

The late Azam Khan was made the caretaker chief minister on January 22, 2023, following the resignation of the-then chief minister Mahmood Khan and dissolution of the provincial assembly. Known as an influential and respected civil servant, he held key positions during his long career as a bureaucrat.

Senior government officials, having worked with the late chief minister, praised him for his good intentions but recalled that his old age and poor health didn’t allow him to focus on important government matters that required extra attention.

They noted that the former chief minister didn’t have enough control over important decisions related to the transfer and postings of senior government officials in the province.

Azam Khan also remained a part of the previous caretaker government and served as federal interior minister, minister for inter-provincial coordination, minister for capital administration and development division, minister for narcotics control and minister for communication from June 5, 2018 to August 31, 2018.

He belonged to the District Management Group (DMG), presently called the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS).

After serving almost all positions in the government, Azam retired from the civil service in Grade 22. He also remained chief secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, chairman of the Pakistan Tobacco Board, secretary Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources, secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs, chairman of the Sarhad Development Authority, Peshawar.

Meanwhile, the KP government has announced three-day mourning. The national flag will fly at half-mast in all government buildings and offices.

President Dr Arif Alvi expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of Azam Khan. The president expressed his condolences to the family of the KP chief minister. The president said during his meetings with the late Azam Khan, he found him to be a thorough gentleman.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar also expressed deep sorrow and grief over the death of the interim KP chief minister. Kakar said Azam Khan throughout his life served the people as a dutiful and competent officer.

He said Azam’s life would be a role model and a beacon for other civil servants. Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Hamayun Saifullah Khan, Anwar Saifullah Khan and Saleem Saifullah also expressed their profound grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Azam Khan. They paid glowing tributes to the services of the late caretaker chief minister.