By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: Sohail Afridi, a young lawmaker from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was sworn in as chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, capping a turbulent transition in the restive northwestern province marked by legal wrangling, opposition boycotts and directives from the party’s imprisoned founder, Imran Khan.
The ceremony at the Governor House unfolded amid a throng of supporters, with footage showing crowds surrounding Afridi as he took the oath administered by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi. During the event, Afridi held up a portrait of Khan, the former prime minister whose influence continues to shape the party’s fortunes despite his incarceration.
The swearing-in followed a directive from the Peshawar High Court, which on Tuesday ordered Governor Kundi to administer the oath by 4 pm Wednesday or risk having the provincial assembly speaker, Babar Saleem Swati, step in under Article 255(2) of the Constitution. The court’s chief justice, SM Attique Shah, had declared Afridi’s election constitutional. Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had urged Kundi to fulfill his “constitutional and legal responsibility” in line with the court’s order and return to the province for the ceremony.
Afridi’s ascension comes amid persistent uncertainty over the resignation of his predecessor, Ali Amin Gandapur, a fellow PTI member who stepped down on Oct. 8 at Khan’s directive. Gandapur submitted two resignations to Governor Kundi, but both were returned due to “disparate signatures.” The PTI has argued that a chief minister’s resignation does not require the governor’s approval under the Constitution. With the opposition boycotting the proceedings, Afridi was elected on Oct. 13 in a provincial assembly session, securing 90 votes.
Candidates from opposition parties — Maulana Lutfur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Arbab Zarak Khan of the Pakistan Peoples Party — received none, as their members staged a walkout. The PTI had preemptively approached the Peshawar High Court on the day of the election to ensure the oath-taking could proceed.
Afridi replaces Gandapur, whose tenure had been plagued by reports of deteriorating law and order and governance challenges in the province, which borders Afghanistan and has long grappled with militancy. Afridi, who hails from Bara tehsil in Khyber district, is seen within the PTI as one of its most ideological and grassroots-oriented figures. He has been associated with the party since his student days and most recently served as the provincial minister for higher education.
In a message posted on X earlier Wednesday, Khan, the PTI founder, directed Afridi to prioritise combating terrorism by collaborating with all relevant stakeholders. “I once again direct the new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to engage with all stakeholders to formulate an effective and comprehensive strategy against terrorism so that lasting and effective peace can be established in the province, and as a result, the economy can be revived,” Khan wrote.
He emphasized that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had given the PTI a mandate and that the party would remain accountable to them, not to outsiders. “The people of KP have given his party a mandate, adding that they will never go against the interests of the people of Pakistan and the province,” Khan said. “The former prime minister added that they are answerable to the people of KP, not to someone else.”
Addressing Afridi directly, Khan called him his “opening batsman” and urged him to “play with confidence.” “I want to send a special message to Sohail Afridi that he is my opening batsman, and therefore, he should play with confidence.”
Khan also congratulated the provincial assembly members for the “successful and smooth completion” of the government change. “The way the members of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stood firm on their ideology and voted for my nominated Chief Minister [Sohail Afridi] without any hesitation is commendable.” He paid tribute to Gandapur for complying with his instructions to step down smoothly.
Upon arriving at the chief minister’s secretariat afterward, Afridi was greeted by a well-equipped police contingent that presented a guard of honor, according to Yar Muhammad Khan Niazi, the chief minister’s focal person on digital media.
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