Sohail Afridi Elected as New Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Photo File Online (X/Twitter)/ New Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Sohail Afridi has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) after securing 90 votes in the provincial assembly. The voting took place during a session chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.

After being elected as the Leader of the House, Sohail Afridi thanked the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for trusting him with such a major responsibility. He said, “I am grateful that a simple worker like me, with no political background or family name, was chosen for this position. I didn’t become Chief Minister through favoritism — I earned it through hard work. I am first a Pakistani, then a Pashtun, and finally a tribal. Having names like Bhutto or Zardari doesn’t make one a true leader.”

Former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also addressed the assembly, saying that Imran Khan had appointed him and, following his leader’s instruction, he resigned respectfully. Gandapur emphasized that democratic norms must be respected and that his government’s record during his 19 months in office speaks for itself.

He said, “When we took over, the provincial treasury had funds for only 18 days of salaries. Today, the KP treasury holds Rs 218 billion. I didn’t allocate development funds to the opposition, but I invested every rupee for the people’s welfare. The public is satisfied.”

Gandapur further added that the PTI founder continues to sacrifice for the nation and that the party stands firmly with him.

The assembly currently has 145 members, out of which 92 belong to the ruling party and 53 are from the opposition. A candidate needed 73 votes to become the Chief Minister, and Sohail Afridi comfortably secured 90.