Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and sitting MNA Sher Afzal Khan Marwat on Thursday petitioned the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) against the resignation of ex-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur over alleged directives issued by incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.
Filed under Article 175(E) of the Constitution, the petition seeks a declaration from the FCC that Gandapur’s resignation letters, submitted on Oct. 8 and Oct. 11, 2025, were issued under the unconstitutional dictation of a convicted and disqualified individual and therefore lacked legal volition, rendering them legally ineffective.
The petition alleges that the entire process of replacing Gandapur as chief minister was initiated on Khan’s directive, adding the former prime minister stands convicted and constitutionally disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. Any person subject to constitutional disqualification, it argues, is legally incapacitated from exercising control over state functionaries or issuing binding political directives.
Marwat has urged the FCC to quash and set aside all consequential actions, including the Oct. 15, 2025, notification regarding the installation and continuation of incumbent KP C.M. Sohail Afridi. It further seeks the restoration of Gandapur as chief minister.
Additionally, the petition seeks a restraining order on all respondents to prevent them from acting on any political or constitutional directives issued by any disqualified political entity regarding KP’s governance.
In the petition, Marwat has argued that as an elected representative from KP, he is personally impacted by unconstitutional disruptions, adding Gandapur’s ouster undermines the public mandate.
“It is an established principle that when the functioning of an entire provincial executive is subverted by external dictation, the rights of the public at large under Articles 9, 17, and 2A are directly infringed, creating an imperative for this Honorable Court to exercise its constitutional jurisdiction,” it says.
The petition also questions whether any convicted and disqualified individual, under Articles 62 and 63, can lawfully issue directives that influence, alter, or dismantle elected provincial governance structures. It asks if instructions from such an individual have any constitutional validity, arguing the governor must reject a chief minister’s resignation if it is not voluntary and lacks constitutional legitimacy.
Denying any role in the petition, Gandapur has asserted he was acting on the directives of Imran Khan. “I have fulfilled my duty by acting upon the instructions to submit my resignation from the office of Chief Minister without any delay, in accordance with the directive of my leader Imran Khan,” he wrote on X. “I have no connection with, nor any involvement in, any kind of case or judicial proceedings,” he added.