The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was dissolved on Wednesday morning after Governor Haji Ghulam Ali signed and approved a summary forwarded to him by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan the previous night.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) shared the governor’s signed notification—dated Jan. 18—in a posting on Twitter. Forwarded to both the chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani, it states that both the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and provincial cabinet stand dissolved with immediate effect under Article 112(1) of the Constitution.
“In terms of Clause (4) of Article 224-A of the Constitution, the incumbent chief minister, Mahmood Khan, shall continue to hold office to perform day-to-day affairs of the province till the appointment of the caretaker chief minister,” it says, adding that the process for the appointment of a caretaker government would now begin.
The dissolution of the KP Assembly comes less than a week after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly, in line with PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s vow to wrap up the provincial governments under his party’s control in a bid to pressure the federal government for snap elections. Announcing his decision at the conclusion of his long march in November, he had said he no longer wished to remain a part of the “corrupt political system” and would seek a fresh mandate.
Unlike the situation in Punjab—which saw the governor direct C.M. Parvez Elahi to seek a vote of confidence before dissolving the assembly—the process in KP proceeded with no hindrances, as opposition lawmakers said they would not resist any attempts by the PTI-led government to proceed to elections.
In a video statement issued on Tuesday night, the KP chief minister said he had fulfilled his promise to the PTI chief to sign the summary for the assembly’s dissolution by 10 p.m. “We have done whatever we could for our people. Now, the assembly will be dissolved and elections will be held within 90 days,” he said, claiming the PTI would not only return to the provincial assembly with a two-thirds majority, but would also emerge victorious in general elections.
Following the dissolution, C.M. Mahmood Khan will now suggest three names for the caretaker chief minister and seek the same from the leader of the opposition. If the two cannot agree on a consensus candidate within three days, the governor will direct the speaker to form a committee comprising six members of the outgoing assembly, with equal representation from the treasury and the opposition. This committee will be provided with two nominees each from the chief minister and the opposition and will have three days to evolve consensus.
If the committee cannot reach a final decision within that timeframe, the nominees will be forwarded to the Election Commission of Pakistan, which is required to take a decision within two days. Once a caretaker chief minister has been installed, the ECP will be required to conduct fresh polls within 90 days.