PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday intensified his public feud with Governor Faisal Karim Kundi as his government prohibited the latter’s stay at KP House in Islamabad.

Sources in the provincial government told Dawn that guards at KP House received verbal instructions to deny the governor permission to the premises.

They insisted that the cabinet had decided to de-notify the Governor’s Annexe at KP House to deny the governor’s access to official lodges.

Spokesman for the government Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif told Dawn that the cabinet made the decision in its last meeting.

Spokesman says cabinet decided about the move in last meeting

“We’re facing accommodation issues. We had a gathering there some days ago and faced accommodation issues for participants,” he said.

Mr Saif said the government had decided that ministers and lawmakers from the province would use KP House Annexe previously reserved for the governor.

He said the government was searching for an alternate residence for the governor in the federal capital.

“The governor should not feel dejected over the de-notification of his annexe at KP House. We are not going to ban his entry to KP House like the Sindh government did to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPAs from Sindh,” he said.

The spokesman said the governor had houses in Islamabad, so he won’t face any problems in staying there during visits.

Sources claimed that provincial chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry “vehemently” opposed the move to de-notify the annexe for the governor at KP House but the provincial government overruled the objection.

However, the government has yet to notify the cabinet’s decision. The governor didn’t respond to this correspondent’s calls and WhatsApp messages.

Both the chief minister and the governor, who belong to Dera Ismail Khan district, publicly sparred lately, threatening each with dire consequences.

Last Friday, Mr Kundi, in a speech, indirectly accused the CM of being involved in the killing of former law minister Mr Israrullah Gandapur and ANP leader Umar Khattab Sherani.

Mr Israrullah was killed in a suicide attack in his hometown of Kulachi near Dera Ismail Khan in Oct 2013.

While government officials blamed the Waziristan-based Gandapur group for the bombing, a little-known shadowy group, Ansar­­ul Mujahideen, claimed responsibility.

ANP’s Mr Sherani was killed in December 2021, a day before the province’s local government elections, which he was contesting as a candidate for the post of Dera Ismail Khan mayor.

The governor insisted that if he relinquished his constitutional post, he would prove to be a bigger nemesis for CM Gandapur.

He warned that protecting the Governor’s House was his “constitutional duty” and whoever tried to occupy it “would be dragged on roads.”

A day later, Mr Gandapur, after a court appearance in his native town, lashed out at Mr Kundi and said he could use his powers to banish the governor from the Governor’s House.

“This Governor’s House is not your property. Don’t force me to turn it into a museum and open it for the public.

“I will shift you to a two-room annexe,” he said.

The CM added that even fuel for the governor’s official vehicles came from the budget of the provincial government and that funds for it would be blocked if the governor, who belonged to PPP, didn’t refrain from “political statements, below-the-belt remarks and confrontation.”

“You’re the governor, so politics is not your job,” Mr Gandapur warned, calling himself the elected representative who came to power with the voters’ mandate.

The CM added that if the governor did not pay heed to his warning, he would seek his removal.

“The letter which notified you [as governor] will also de-notify you.”

However, a day later, Mr Kundi, in a presser, struck a conciliatory tone saying he would extend all possible support to the provincial government for resolving issues of people rather than opt for confrontation.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024