Mohammad Azam Khan takes oath as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister
PESHAWAR: Former bureaucrat Mohammad Azam Khan took oath as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister at a ceremony held at the Governor’s House in Peshawar on Saturday.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali administered oath to Azam Khan, whose name was finalized for the post after consultation between the outgoing chief minister Mahmood Khan and Leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani.
Earlier, Governor Ghulam Ali formally appointed Azam Khan as the caretaker chief minister of the province in the interim set-up.
In a notification issued on Saturday, the governor designated Khan for the role under Clause 1a of Section 124 of the Constitution, which states that if the provincial legislature is dissolved under Article 58 or Article 112, “a care-taker chief minister shall be appointed by the governor in consultation with the chief minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing provincial assembly”.
“Further necessary action may be taken for notification and administering oath to the caretaker chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the governor,” it added.
The KP Assembly stood dissolved on Wednesday after the governor signed and approved the chief minister’s summary for the dissolution of the provincial legislature.
The move came days after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly on Jan 14 as PTI Chairman Imran Khan has vowed to disassociate himself from the “current corrupt political system” by quitting the two assemblies where he is in power.
MOHAMMAD AZAM KHAN: A Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln’s Inn, London, Azam Khan had earlier served as minister for interior, capital administration and development in the caretaker cabinet of prime minister Nasir-ul-Mulk in 2018.
He also remained the provincial minister for finance, planning and development in the KP caretaker cabinet of CM Shamsul Mulk from October 2007 to April 2008 and served on key positions in the federal and provincial governments.
Before these stints, Mohammad Azam Khan has served as the chief secretary of the province from September 1990 till July 1993. He also remained the Pakistan Tobacco Board chairman.
Mohammad Azam Khan, hailing from Charsadda district, has previously served as K-P finance minister from October 24, 2007, to April 1, 2008. He also remained the secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural resources in Islamabad.
The development comes a day after the outgoing chief minister Mahmood Khan and the opposition leader Akram Durrani in the now-dissolved provincial assembly broke the deadlock on the incoming interim setup and agreed to the name of Azam Khan as the caretaker chief minister.
This was announced in a joint press conference by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Akram Durrani. “We decided on Azam Khan’s name after consultation with our leader,” Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said.
“We agreed on Azam Khan as our consensus candidate. We have chosen a person who is acceptable to all,” said Durrani.
Dissolution of K-P Assembly
Earlier in the week, Governor Ghulam Ali had signed the summary on the dissolution of the provincial assembly on the advice of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. The latter had sent the advice to the governor seeking the dissolution of the provincial assembly under Article 112(1) of the Constitution. The dissolution of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly came days after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly. – Agencies
