• Azam Khan passed away yesterday after having heart attack. 
• Mahmood Khan, Akram Khan Durrani will hold discussions. 
• Both leaders will have to decide on name in three days: sources.

PESHAWAR: An important meeting to discuss the appointment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s caretaker chief minister will take place at the CM House on Sunday (today), official sources told Geo News. 

A day earlier, Muhammad Azam Khan — who was the former interim CM of the province — passed away at the age of 89 after he fell ill and suffered a heart attack. 

Azam was appointed as the caretaker chief minister in January this year following the dissolution of the provincial assembly by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government. 

KP’s former chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) leader Mahmood Khan and Opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani will hold the meeting to discuss the appointment of the new CM, said the sources. 

They also said that both the leaders will have to decide on a name within three days. 

Durrani said that there was a political crisis in the province following Azam’s death, however, the matter will be resolved today. 

“I will discuss the appointment of interim CM with preparation. I will also convince Mahmood Khan as no one rejects my suggestions,” he added. 

The opposition also said that the names of the caretaker CM could be of politicians or bureaucrats. 

A day earlier, KP Advocate General Amir Javid had written a letter to Governor Ghulam Ali, presenting his legal opinion on the matter.

In his letter, Javid suggested the governor implement Article 224 of the Constitution. “The former CM and leader of the Opposition should be invited for the discussion on the appointment,” he wrote.

He also stressed that the appointment should be completed within three days. 

PTI not to accept CM

Meanwhile, PTI leader Zahir Khan Toru said that the party will not accept the new chief minister whose appointment is decided by the former CM and opposition leader. 

Toru said that they will move the court if the new chief minister’s appointment is done by Khan and Durrani. He further stressed that the matter should be solved constitutionally, saying that the governor should not make his formulas. 

“The new CM chosen by Mahmood Khan, Ghulam Ali and Akram Khan Durrani will be a political one,” he said, adding that a level playing field is not expected from the chosen CM. 

Who will appoint new KP interim CM?

According to Article 224 of the Constitution, the governor of the province approves the appointment of the caretaker chief minister after the leader of the house and leader of the opposition forward him the name finalised with consensus.

Under Article 224-A, if there is no consensus on the name of the caretaker chief minister, then the matter is referred to the provincial assembly committee consisting of members from both opposition and treasury benches.

And if the committee, too, fails to reach a consensus, then the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) picks the caretaker chief minister from the names proposed by the government and the opposition.

The caretaker cabinet is also appointed on the recommendation of the caretaker chief minister.

It is clearly stated in the Constitution that the caretaker prime minister or chief minister is appointed with the consensus of the leader of the house in the national assembly (the prime minister) and the leader of the opposition. The same method is followed in the provincial assembly as per the Constitution.

According to the Constitution, the appointment of the caretaker chief minister solely falls under the domain of the provincial assembly or ECP in case of non-consensus between the opposition and the government.

The Senate and the National Assembly have no role in the appointment of the caretaker chief minister.