PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) Secretary Information Shafqat Mahmood has expressed serious concerns on behalf of his party against the appointment of Engineer Shaukatullah Khan as the new Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).

He termed the appointment as a violation of the provisions of the 18th constitutional amendment.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the PTI leader said that after the 18th constitutional amendment, the governor of any province must be a citizen of the same province, whereas Engineer Shaukatullah was not a resident of KPK, who instead came from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

The PTI leader said that Shaukatullah's appointment was in violation of the constitution.

Moreover, he said that the appointment of Shaukatullah was also controversial as the KPK governor is the only governor who also acts as chief executive of Fata and thus would be overseeing the elections.

"Since Shaukatullah has been a federal minister of the PPP government, his appointment is politically motivated aimed at supporting the ruling party's candidates in the upcoming polls," Shafqat Mahmood said.

"A neutral and non-partisan person should have been appointed to oversee the electioneering in Fata where the people are going to exercise their right to vote for mainstream political parties of the country," the PTI leader said.

Shafqat Mahmood also asked the Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakharuddin G. Ebrahim to take notice of the appointment of the governor KPK and take necessary action in this regard.