Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the ruling party in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), has successfully elected Sohail Afridi as its new Chief Minister (CM)
Sohail Afridi secured 90 votes in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, replacing Ali Amin Gandapur as the new Chief Minister of the province. Despite objections raised by the opposition and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Kareem Kundi, the assembly went ahead with the voting session to elect the new chief minister.
KP Assembly Speaker Babar Salim Swati announced that Molana Lutfur Rahman of JUIF, Sardar Shah Jehan Yusuf of the PMLN, and Arbaab Zara Khan of the People’s Party received zero votes. He also noted that three members of the Assembly were out of the country despite an announcement that Afridi had won the election after securing 90 votes, following which chants of his name began ringing out in the Assembly Hall.
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi thanked Pakistan’s most powerful establishment — the “social media.”
pic.twitter.com/O5HCotxVRi— Faizan (@faizannriaz) October 13, 2025
Sohail Afridi needed to secure at least 73 votes in the KP assembly out of 145 to win the elections. However, he securely gained 90 votes. Afridi said he was grateful to the party founder, Imran Khan, for choosing someone who was a mere worker, belonged to a middle-class family, and did not have familial links to politics.
Belonging to the Tribal Districts, Sohail Khan Afridi said he is proud of his roots in the Tribal Districts. In his speech, he said that there is a misconception about the Tribal Districts that the people of the Tribal Areas are only there to die and that the Tribal Areas should always be far behind, adding that Imran Khan, the former PM of Pakistan, was aware of the deprivations faced by the people in the Tribal Districts.
History rarely gives second chances, but Ali Amin Gandapur grabbed his! Once criticized, he’s now a shining example of loyalty and grace in PTI’s story! #AliAmin #PTI
pic.twitter.com/QBmtmFxX06— Jalal Qazi (@JalalQazi) October 13, 2025
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“As is the vision of my leader, Imran; one does not become a leader by writing Sharif or Bhutto or Zardari with their name,” he said.
The election of Sohail Khan Afridi comes amid the opposition’s denunciation of the process, calling it an unconstitutional procedure. Leader of the opposition Dr. Ibadullah held a copy of the constitution and said that the procedure is unconstitutional because the resignation has to be accepted first, then the administration notifies the cabinet. He said that the cabinet had not denotified, and Gandharpur’s resignation had not been accepted by the Governor.
’’نہیں مروں گا اب کسی جنگ میں، یہ سوچ لیا میں اب کی بار عشقٍ عمران میں مارا جائوں گا‘‘، سُہیل آفریدی کا خطاب سے پہلے شعر۔۔!! pic.twitter.com/Iu85mK2kJE
— Khurram Iqbal (@khurram143) October 13, 2025
“In the presence of an existing chief minister, the election of a new chief minister is unconstitutional. So we will not become a part of this unconstitutional procedure,“ he asserted.
Responding to the opposition leader’s speech, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Salim Swati said that Ali Amin Gandapur had already submitted his resignation to the government twice and had publicly announced it in his speech as well. He added that the assembly had proceeded in accordance with the law and that the election process was conducted transparently.
Gandapur, at the beginning of the session and in his speech, had already congratulated Sohail Afridi on the elections. He assured that the PTI’s fight for justice would continue under the leadership of party founder Imran Khan. He also called for allowing the democratic process to continue and to refrain from putting any obstacle in this regard.
“A government can only succeed, a province can only succeed if it is self-sustainable. Unfortunately, when our government came into power, we only had enough money for salaries for 18 months. But I am proudly saying right now that we have Rs280 million in the treasury,” he said.
While the elections for the new Chief Minister were held on Monday, 13th October, on Sunday, Governor Faisal Kareem Kundi refused to accept the resignation and returned two separate letters submitted by the former CM over disparate signatures and summoned the former CM on October 15, Wednesday, to settle the matter
Finally the resignation submitted on 8th Oct previously denied by Governor office also acknowledged.
I hereby Reconfirm that both Resignations (8th Oct & 11th Oct 2025) are bearing My Authentic Signatures. https://t.co/cNuV2GFCOp pic.twitter.com/YHHYrXsliJ— Ali Amin Khan Gandapur (@AliAminKhanPTI) October 12, 2025
Responding to Kundi’s statement on X, Gandapur said that both resignations submitted by him bore his authentic signatures.
With Additional Inputs from GVS South Asia Desk