Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Sunday approved the selection of Justice (retired) Arshad Hussain Shah as the new caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He had been nominated as the interim chief minister following a consultative meeting between the former chief minister of the province, Mahmood Khan and former leader of the opposition in the provincial assembly, Akram Khan Durrani.
Mahmood and Durrani met in the Chief Minister House on Sunday on the invitation of Governor Ali to decide on a new interim chief minister.
The need to appoint a new caretaker chief minister arose after the previous incumbent, Azam Khan, passed away on Saturday.
He had been complaining of vomiting and cholera for a few days, though tests only showed he had a hernia.
Azam was admitted to the Rehman Medical Institute in Peshawar late on Friday night but passed away on Saturday morning.
A former bureaucrat, he was laid to rest in his native Prang in Charsadda.
Justice Shah was part of the caretaker cabinet and was serving as the caretaker minister for law, human rights, religious and minority affairs.
There were reports that Durrani had suggested Justice Shah's name, and consensus was reached on it. After that, the name was sent to Governor Ali, who approved it.
After he signs a summary, Ali is due to administer the oath of office to Justice Shah later on Sunday evening.
Shah hails from Abbottabad in the province. As a jurist, he has served as the chief justice of the Supreme Apellate Court of Gilgit Baltistan.