By Irum Saleem
Finally Sohail Afridi has become Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite fierce opposition and campaign by PMLN.
During the assembly session marred by the PMLN and JUIF opposition’s walkout
Afridi was elected the leader of the House.
Before his election, the uncertainty regarding the resignation of outgoing Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was prevailing.
خیبر پختونخوا کے منتخب وزیراعلٰی سہیل آفریدی کی کامیابی آمریت کے خلاف جمہوریت کی شاندار کامیابی ہے۔ اس وزیراعلٰی کا انتخاب کسی پرچی کا نہیں عوام کی حمایت اور PM عمران خان کے نوجوان اور حقیقی گراس روٹس لیڈرشپ میں اعتماد کا نتیجہ ہے۔
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi6) October 13, 2025
حکمرانوں کی بدترین صحت پالیسیوں سے مایوس ہو کر دو سالوں میں %50 سے %60 ڈاکٹر ملک چھوڑ کر جا چکے ہیں، سینیٹ کی قائمہ کمیٹی میں تشویشناک انکشاف۔ عوام کیلئے ڈاکٹر ہوں نہ ہوں، سوئٹزرلینڈ اور لندن سے علاج کروانے والے شریفوں کی صحت پر اس سے کیا فرق پڑتا ہے؟
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi6) October 9, 2025
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, who pushed ahead with the election despite the opposition walkout, announced that the three opposition candidates — Maulana Lutfur Rehman of JUI-F, Sardar Shah Jehan Yousaf of the PML-N, and Arbab Zarak Khan of the PPP — all received zero votes.
He said that Afridi had won the election after securing 90 votes, prompting chants in favour of the PTI leader to ring out in the assembly hall.
Afridi had needed to secure at least 73 votes in the 145-strong KP Assembly to win the election. Out of a total of 53 opposition members, 51 walked out of the assembly on the call of the opposition leader; the remaining two were not present for the session.
Who is responsible for this? pic.twitter.com/x9VBKqcOXo
— Moonis Elahi (@MoonisElahi6) October 13, 2025
Sohail Afridi thanked Imran Khan for nominating him as CM. “My name does not carry surname of Sharif and Zaradri. I have reached here by sheer my hardwork,” he sais.
He questioned as why despite 14,000 intelligence-based operations, why has there been no decrease in terrorism?
“My people are still internally-displaced persons (IDPs), their homes have been uprooted and they are dying,” he said, noting that “it is clear that military operations are not the solution”.
Afridi stressed that any policy concerning counter terror measures and Afghanistan had to take the people of the province into account.
“They are kicking out our Afghan brothers and sisters — people who have been here for 40-50 years,” he said while referring to the repatriation of Afghan refugees.
He also vowed to speak to the Centre about the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), stating, “I will ask why people who are merely asking for their rights have been treated in such a way.”
Meanwhile PTI senior leader and former federal minister Moonis Elahi said in a post on X: “The election of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s newly elected Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi, marks a remarkable victory of democracy over dictatorship. His selection is not the result of any backroom deal or “slip of paper,” but rather a testament to public support and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s confidence in young, genuine grassroots leadership.”
