KPK caretaker cabinet sent packing
At least 19 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s caretaker cabinet on Thursday tendered their resignations to interim chief minister Azam Khan, which were prompted by their purported involvement in politics.
The exodus comes after a caretaker minister, Shahid Khattak, quit the cabinet on July 24 over ‘personal commitment’ soon after he addressed a political gathering organised by the Awami National Party. The participation of the interim minister in the political gathering evoked a strong response from the Election Commission of Pakistan on July 23. A day after, Mr Khattak stepped down.
“This is…when ECP asked Azam Khan to sack all those [cabinet members] involved in politics,” sources said, adding there were credible reports that the decision to introduce a new caretaker set-up had already been taken in view of the political affiliation of most caretaker ministers.
On July 31, the ECP wrote a letter and asked the caretaker chief minister that it was bound by Article 218(3) of the Constitution to organise and conduct elections in a free, fair, transparent and impartial manner.
