2025 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa political crisis

Ali Amin Gandapur of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) became the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 2024 provincial elections. His cabinet ruled until October 2025, when internal party decisions suggested his resignation, leading to a change in leadership. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has been a central figure in this crisis since May 2024. His appointment itself was controversial, as earlier Gandapur criticized it as “illegal” and there was tension between the CM and the governor. ==Gandapur's resignation==

Initial (Typed) resignation On 8 October 2025, Gandapur announced that he was resigning as Chief Minister, allegedly on the instructions of PTI founder Imran Khan, and nominated Sohail Afridi as his successor. The resignation letter was said to have been typed on official letterhead and signed by Gandapur. However, the Governor House denied receiving the typed resignation, leading to confusion and allegations that it had gone "missing". Handwritten resignation On October 11, the governor's office confirmed that it had received a handwritten resignation from Gandapur, which was delivered at 2:30 p.m. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi posted that "the handwritten resignation of the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been received and acknowledged by the Governor House." The governor said that the resignation would be scrutinized under constitutional and legal procedures before being acted upon. Controversy over signatures Governor Kundi then raised a procedural objection: he claimed that two resignation letters were submitted (typed on October 8 and handwritten on October 11), which did not have matching signatures. Due to the discrepancies, the governor returned both letters "with observation" and summoned Gandapur to appear at the Governor's House on October 15 at 3:00 PM to resolve the authenticity. In his response on social media (X), Gandapur insisted that both resignations had his "authentic signatures" and claimed that the resignation (typed) submitted on October 8, which had been previously denied, was now accepted. ==Afridi's nomination as Chief Minister==

Following the announcement of Gandapur's resignation, the PTI central leadership (through party general secretary Salman Akram Raja) declared Sohail Afridi as its candidate for the Chief Ministership of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Afridi is a PTI MPA from PK-70 Khyber-II, and will become the first Chief Minister from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas if elected. As part of the process, four candidates submitted their nomination papers for the election of Chief Minister: Afridi (PTI), and three opposing candidates from JUI-F, PML-N, and PPP, respectively. ==Election for Chief Minister==

The KP Assembly session was called on 13 October 2025, to elect a new Chief Minister. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the session, saying the election was unconstitutional as Gandapur’s resignation was not formally accepted nor was his cabinet dissolved. In his remarks before the walkout, Ibadullah Khan, the Leader of the Opposition, asserted that “the election of a new Chief Minister in the presence of the incumbent Chief Minister is unconstitutional.” Speaker Babar Saleem Swati ruled that Gandapur had resigned twice and declared the election legal, citing Article 130(8) of the Constitution and the Assembly Rules. == Peshawar High Court ruling ==

On 13 October, the same day as the chief ministerial election, the PTI approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to seek the nomination of the Speaker or any other person "considered appropriate", in place of Governor Kundi, to administer the oath of office to Afridi. On 15 October 2025, Governor Kundi administered the oath of office to Afridi as the Chief Minister of the province at the Governor's House. ==See also==