PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has announced his provincial cabinet, comprising 13 members, including ministers, advisers, and a special assistant.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the cabinet includes 10 ministers, 2 advisers, and 1 special assistant. The ministers are Meena Khan Afridi, Arshad Ayub Khan, Amjad Ali, Aftab Alam Khan, Fazal Shakoor Khan, Khaleeq-ur-Rehman, Riaz Khan, Syed Fakhar Jehan, Aqibullah Khan, Shafique Jan and Faisal Khan.
The announcement came under the direction of PTI founding Chairman Imran Khan. The advisers appointed are Muzzammil Aslam and Taj Muhammad, while Shafi Jan has been named Special Assistant to the Chief Minister.
Afridi has largely retained members who previously served in the cabinet of former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, though he has also brought in a few new faces. The cabinet mainly comprises elected members, with only one non-elected leader—Muzzammil Aslam—who earlier served as Adviser on Finance in the Gandapur government.
Notably, former Information Adviser Barrister Saif has not been included in the new cabinet. However, Faisal Tarkai, brother of the recently dismissed minister Shahram Tarkai, and Aqibullah Khan, brother of former Speaker Asad Qaiser, have both been inducted.
The oath-taking ceremony for the new cabinet will be held today at the Governor House in Peshawar.
Political analysts say that Afridi’s cabinet reflects continuity, as most members have previously served, but it lacks female representation—no woman has been included in the lineup.
By including members from across the province and prioritizing elected representatives over unelected ones, Chief Minister Suhail Afridi appears to be striving to maintain political balance and reduce internal divisions within the party.
Who is Sohail Afridi?
Sohail Afridi had replaced Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as chief minister earlier this month after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan instructions.
PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja announced Khan’s decision, after which Gandapur formally announced his resignation as chief minister and pledged to support Afridi and the party’s policy.
