PESHAWAR – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s political crisis deepened as Governor Faisal Karim Kundi turned down accepting resignation of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in light of suspicious discrepancies in his signatures, hours before the province’s assembly convenes to elect a new leader.
In an unexpected twist, Governor revealed that two resignation letters from Gandapur dated October 8 and October 11 had been received by the Governor House, each bearing “disparate and unalike signatures.”
He now summoned CM Gandapur to appear personally at Governor House on October 15 at 3 pm to verify authenticity of both letters, “This resignation has been returned with observation,” Kundi posted on social media along with a formal letter addressed to Gandapur.
Gandapur hits back, saying “Finally, the resignation submitted on October 8, previously denied by the Governor Office, is now acknowledged.” He insisted that both letters carried his genuine signatures, brushing aside the governor’s objections.
KP CM Resignation Controversy
The crisis started October 8, when Gandapur announced his resignation as provincial chief executive and shared a typed, signed letter on his official letterhead. PTI’s General Secretary Salman Akram Raja confirmed the move, saying party founder Imran Khan had instructed Sohail Afridi to take over as the next chief minister.
Governor House initially denied receiving the resignation, only to later acknowledge a handwritten version of it on October 11, which Kundi said would undergo “scrutiny and constitutional vetting.”
KP CM Vote
Even as resignation dispute rages on, KP Assembly gears up for a tense showdown today at 10 am, where four candidates will compete for the province’s top office: Sohail Afridi (PTI), Gandapur’s chosen successor, who will compete against, Maulana Lutfur Rehman (JUI-F), Sardar Shah Jehan Yousaf (PML-N) and Arbab Zarak Khan (PPP).
