Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's interim CM passes away

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: Caretaker chief minister of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Azam Khan, passed away on Saturday, Dawn reported citing a hospital spokesperson.

Khan died at the age of 89, according to his Nephew Muhammad Ahmed Khan.

Rehman Medical Complex spokesperson Shabbir Shah confirmed his death, adding that Khan was admitted to an intensive care unit last night after he fell unwell a day ago.

Moreover, the chief minister's nephew Ahmed Khan said that his uncle invited him yesterday and discussed a plan to visit Charsadda University next Monday, adding that he was "absolutely fine", Dawn reported.

"I was making the arrangements [to visit the university], meanwhile news of his death arrived," Ahmed said.

Mohammad Azam Khan was appointed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's chief minister in January this year after the dissolution of the provincial assembly after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan decided to quit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies.

Many officials and ministers in Pakistan expressed grief after Khan's death, according to Dawn.

Pakistan Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar remembered the chief minister as "surely an honest and pious person".

Moreover, President Arif Alvi also expressed grief at the news of his death and recalled that he found Khan a "gentleman" whenever he met him.

Former Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) secretary Kanwar Dilshad said that with Khan's death, the provincial cabinet in the province stood "automatically dissolved".

He further stated that until a new chief minister is elected, the governor will assume authority and manage provincial affairs, reported Dawn.

Adding to this, Pakistan's Interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi described the chief minister as a "gentleman" and a "polite" person while caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti also prayed for Khan's family.