PHC issues notice to govt over appointment of caretaker CM

By Amjad Safi

December 02, 2023

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday issued a notice to the federal and provincial governments on a writ petition challenging the appointment of the caretaker Chief Minister Justice (Retired) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah.

A two-member bench consisting Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Waqar Ahmad heard the petition filed by Tajammul Hussain Shah.

Justice (retd) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah. — APP

Advocate Tajamul Shah appeared for the petitioners, Wali Khan Afridi and Shah Faisal Ilyas, in the case. Advocate General Aamir Javed represented the government.

The lawyers for the petitioner told the court that the caretaker chief minister was appointed following the death of his predecessor on November 11. They said the mechanism laid down in the Constitution was not followed in the appointment of the chief executive of the province. The lawyers argued in his petition that the appointment was made in violation of the set procedure laid down in the Constitution. According to the petition, the procedure mentioned in the Article 224 and 224-A of the Constitution was not followed while making the appointment. The petition argued that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly stood dissolved at the time of making the appointment. The lawyers said that Mahmood Khan was no longer the chief minister and Akram Khan Durrani the opposition leader so they were not the authorised persons for the consultation.

They said that the caretaker government was supposed to run the day-to-day affairs and facilitate the holding of the free, fair and transparent election, but it had failed to perform its constitutional obligations.

The caretaker government has overstepped its authority, the petition added. The petitioner believed that the caretaker government was following a political agenda and it could influence the conduct of the free, fair and transparent election. The lawyers requested the court to declare the appointment of the incumbent caretaker chief minister as null and void, saying the caretaker government had lost its credibility.