FCC declares plea against KP CM’s appointment infructuous after governor’s rule

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Thursday disposed of a challenge to the appointment of non-functional Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, deeming it infructuous after the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in the province. Governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were imposed on Sunday. The federal government cited the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism as the reason for the measures. At present, Afridi remains in preventative custody along with some of his cabinet members. The PTI had reported their detention shortly after the Centre imposed emergency and governor’s rule.

“The petition has become infructuous following the imposition of state of emergency and the governor’s rule,” observed FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, who headed a two-judge bench also comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi. The bench took up a petition moved by estranged PTI leader Sher Afzal Khan Marwat against the resignation of former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur in October 2025, who preceded Afridi. At the outset of the proceedings on Thursday, the chief justice wondered whether the petition could be heard given recent developments in KP concerning the chief minister and added that proceedings on the petition could not continue in light of these events. However, petitioner Marwat said he also intended to challenge the imposition of governor’s rule and the emergency and, therefore, needed a short adjournment in the case. Justice Najafi, however, observed that the case against the now non-functional chief minister was no longer a live issue, adding that governor’s rule and the emergency were separate and independent matters. The petitioner pointed out that if governor’s rule and the…