Nomination papers of PTI’s Sohail Afridi, three others approved for election of KP Chief Minister

Speaker Khyber Paktunkhawa assembly has accepted the nomination papers of four candidates for the election of Chief Minister Khyber Paktunkhawa on Sunday, reported 24NewsHDTV Channel.

PTI has nominated Sohail Afridi, JUI F named Maulana Lutfur Rehman, PPP named Arbab Zarak Khan and PML-N nominated Sardar Shah Jahan for the election of CM Khbyer Paktunkhawa.

Speaker Baber Saleem Swati approved the nomination papers of all four candidates after thorough scrutiny.

The PTI’s Sohail Afridi on Sunday submitted his papers to contest the chief minister elections due to be held during a session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly tomorrow, according to the assembly’s secretary.

Afridi, a member of the provincial assembly hailing from Bara, was nominated for the office by party founder Imran Khan after sitting KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur announced his resignation earlier this week. This has prompted an election to decide KP’s next chief executive. Secretary Syed Muhammad Mahir told reporters that Afridi’s papers, as well as those of the three opposition candidates — contesting on behalf of the PPP, PML-N and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) — have been received and approved.

The nomination papers of the PTI’s Sohail Afridi have been approved, he said. The papers of Arbab Zarq of the People’s Party, Sardar Jahan of the PML-N and Maulana Lutfur Rehman of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F have also been approved for the Chief Minister’s post.

A video shared by the PTI on X showed Afridi signing documents, with the caption reading that he has submitted his papers to contest the CM elections.

To a question about federal ministers’ allegations that he was in contact with proscribed organisations, Afridi told that the Centre has “declared we are all banned groups, we are all terrorists and they have filed all of the FIRs (first information reports) against us”.

Meanwhile, a delegation of candidates called on the Awami National Party (ANP) at their Bacha Khan Markaz headquarters in Peshawar. The delegation was led by PTI Provincial President Junaid Akbar Khan and comprised Sher Ali Arbab, Ali Khan Jadoon, Shaukat Yousafzai, Malik Adeel Iqbal, Irfan Saleem and other leaders, according to PTI Deputy Information Secretary and social media head Ikram Katahna, who was also part of the delegation.

Junaid said, “The PTI has a numerical majority in KP. We want to elect Sohail Afridi unopposed to stop undemocratic characters.”

ANP KP President Mian Iftikhar Hussain, in response, said that the party would not be a part of any unconstitutional and undemocratic process and that it would speak with their leadership after consultations.

The PTI delegation also met Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam today, with Junaid stating that the delegation had come in the hope of making a joint decision “like in the past”.

Outgoing CM Gandapur resigned his seat over party founder Imran’s concerns regarding a spike in terrorism in the province. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Wednesday confirmed Gandapur’s resignation during a media briefing, stating that the decision was made by Imran Khan.