PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday stepped down as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister, hours after PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja confirmed Sohail Afridi as the new nominee for the post.
Gandapur formally submitted his resignation to KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, saying the chief minister’s position was a trust placed in him by PTI founder Imran Khan.
In a post on X, Gandapur — a firebrand PTI leader who also served as a federal minister during Khan’s premiership — said he was returning the trust in accordance with the instructions of party founder — who has been behind bars since August 2023.
“In respectful compliance of the orders of my leader, and founding PTI chairman, Imran Khan, it is my honour to tender my resignation from the Office of the Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he wrote.
The outgoing chief minister said that when he assumed charge as chief minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was grappling with “financial ruin and the menace of terrorism.”
He said that with the support of his cabinet, party members, workers, and bureaucratic team, the provincial government restored financial stability and launched major nation-building projects in a province “militarily categorised as a warzone.”
Expressing gratitude to his cabinet colleagues, lawmakers from both the ruling PTI and the opposition, and provincial officers, Gandapur said he faced “extraordinary challenges of governance” during his tenure.
“I may not be able to claim with certainty that I did well on all those challenges,” he wrote, adding: “but I can say with utmost certainty that I served with absolute sincerity to the people of KP and always acted in the best interest of Pakistan.”
Ahead of his announcement, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja had confirmed Gandapur’s removal, saying that the decision was made by the party’s founder.
“It is correct that Ali Amin Gandapur is being removed from the office of chief minister,” Raja told journalists in Rawalpindi, adding that Afridi has been nominated as the new chief minister of KP.
Expressing confidence in the new provincial leadership, he said: “We expect Sohail Afridi to guide and advise the federal government on these matters.”
He added that the PTI founder had directed Gandapur to resign, saying the move was in his own best interest. “There will be no difficulty — Gandapur will resign, and the assembly will elect Afridi as the new chief minister,” he said.
Raja further stated that the party was preparing to announce a “new policy and a fresh beginning”.
The PTI’s top leader said the province was facing an alarming wave of terrorism. He said the KP government had been advised to distance itself from what he called “the federal government’s flawed policies,” especially those concerning the expulsion of Afghan citizens.
“The way Afghan nationals were expelled was unnecessary,” he remarked. The PTI leader also criticised former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, saying: “He remained foreign minister for over a year and never visited Afghanistan.”
Raja said terrorism could only be eradicated through dialogue. “The only way to end terrorism is to sit together and negotiate,” he asserted.
Commenting on other political matters, he said multiple cases had been registered against the PTI founder’s sister, Aleema Khan, while “the PTI founder believes that now Noreen Khan will carry forward his message.”
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said that Gandapur will submit his resignation to KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi tomorrow (Thursday).
The PTI chairman dismissed reports about a rift within the party, saying that the party remained united.
“There is no forward bloc in PTI. It is the captain’s responsibility to decide when and which player to field. All PTI members remain loyal to the PTI founder,” he added.
Rifts within PTI
Gandapur’s removal comes amid reports of growing internal rifts within the party as the KP CM and Aleema recently traded barbs and levelled allegations against each other.
In a bid to defuse internal tensions, the incarcerated PTI founder directed Gandapur and his sister to refrain from making public remarks.
Gandapur had earlier warned PTI founder Khan about “vloggers” trying to sow divisions in the party and promote Aleema Khan as the next chairperson, and even prime minister.
The KP CM, in a video message on social media, alleged that PTI founder’s sister was not only refusing to rein in the vloggers but was actively backing their undermining campaign.
Gandapur mentioned he had also conveyed to the PTI founder that columnist Hafeezullah Niazi — a relative of Imran — was writing articles portraying Aleema as both the “party chairperson and prime minister”.
Reacting to the development, political analyst Shahzeb Khanzada said that it seemed that Aleema Khan had prevailed.
“The differences between Gandapur and Khan aren’t new. There were questions regarding Aleema Khan within the party as well,” he added.
According to Khanzada, recent reports had indicated that Gandapur’s position was under threat for some time. The KP chief minister and Bushra Bibi did not get along during the brief period when she was released from jail. –Agencies
