PTI says Sohail Afridi will remain Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, bars talk of change

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) clarified on Thursday that there will be no change in the office of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister. It said Sohail Afridi will remain in the post with the backing of the party’s founder, Imran Khan.

According to a notification from the party’s central secretariat, which was also shared on X, Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said Sohail Afridi is the party’s chief minister in the province and will continue to carry out his duties.

The notification directed all members, office-bearers, parliamentarians and officials not to call or attend meetings, present agendas or start discussions on nominating or changing the chief minister. It also barred them from considering or consulting on proposals about alternative candidates.

According to the notification, only Imran Khan has the authority to nominate an alternative candidate or change the decision. His decisions on the matter will be final and binding on all members.

According to The Express Tribune, emergency and governor’s rule were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 11 October after talks failed. On the same day, there were also reports of Sohail Afridi’s detention as the long march moved towards Swat. The long march had begun on 4 October. A day earlier, an anti-terrorism court in Peshawar issued arrest warrants for Sohail Afridi and other party leaders in the 9 May attack case.

The newspaper said differences also emerged within the party. On 21 October, former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja had a heated exchange over the provincial leadership and party affairs. On 24 October, Barrister Gohar issued a notification saying the provincial organisation would continue to work under the presidency of Junaid Akbar, and that there would be no change in the cabinet or the organisational structure.