PESHAWAR: Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, has announced his resignation from office.
In a statement shared on social media, Gandapur said that the position of Chief Minister was a trust given by the party’s founder, and in accordance with his directive, he was returning that trust by stepping down.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Barrister Salman Akram Raja confirmed that, on the instructions of the PTI founder, Ali Amin Gandapur has been removed from his position and Sohail Afridi is being appointed as the new Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Salman Akram Raja said the PTI founder’s decision is final and the party leadership fully endorses it. He added that Sohail Afridi is the personal choice of the PTI founder, and that a leadership change was necessary for a fresh start and sustainable peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to Raja, the PTI founder expressed deep sorrow and grief over the recent martyrdoms in Orakzai, stressing that serious steps are needed to restore peace in the province and urging an immediate review of the government’s counter-terrorism policy.
The PTI founder further stated that for the past three years, he had been warning that the cycle of violence is harmful for both the country and the region, emphasizing that dialogue with the Afghan government must be considered the only path to peace.
He also noted that the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees has negatively impacted regional stability, adding that the new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will pursue a policy of dialogue, peace, and reconciliation. The party leadership, Raja said, fully supports this new vision.
