Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Wednesday signed the summary sent by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan Tuesday advising him to dissolve the provincial assembly. With the governor’s signature, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly stands dissolved today. Unlike his counterpart in Punjab, KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali signed the summary of assembly dissolution well before the expiry of stipulated time. Whereas Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, who had also received the assembly dissolution summary by Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi, did not sign it, letting it dissolve on its own on Saturday night after an expiry of 48 hours.

According to the notification issued by the Governor’s House, Peshawar today, “Governor Haji Ghulam Ali under Clause (1) of Article 112 of the Constitution of Pakistan dissolves the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with immediate effect. Henceforth, the Provincial Cabinet also stands dissolved.” The notification further states: “In terms of Clause (4) of Article 224-A of the Constitution, the incumbent Chief Minister Mr Mahmood Khan shall continue to hold office to perform day to day affairs of the Province till the appointment of caretaker Chief Minister.” The Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution binds the Chief Minister and the Opposition Leader in the outgoing assembly to appoint the Caretaker Chief Minister and sent the name to the Governor within the stipulated period of three days.

KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday night advised KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali to dissolve the provincial assembly. In the summary sent to the governor, the chief minister wrote that he was sending the advice in pursuant to Article 112(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. As per the constitution, the Governor is bound to sign the summary within 48 hours and if he chooses to not sign it, the assembly dissolves automatically without the governor’s assent.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP