Peshawar: After days of political uncertainty, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed lawmaker Sohail Khan Afridi has officially taken oath as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Afridi replaces Ali Amin Gandapur, who resigned from the position following reports of deteriorating governance and law-and-order challenges in the province.
The oath was administered by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi at the direction of the Peshawar High Court (PHC). The court ordered the governor to swear in the newly elected chief minister by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, warning that if he failed to comply, KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati would perform the ceremony. The PHC ruling came after the governor initially rejected Gandapur’s resignation, further deepening the political impasse in the province.
الحمداللہ ، سہیل آفریدی نے خیبر پختون خوا کے وزیراعلٰی کے عہدے کا حلف اٹھا لیا pic.twitter.com/yTDWm0zArH
— PTI (@PTIofficial) October 15, 2025On October 13, Sohail Khan Afridi was elected as chief executive of KP amid a boycott by the opposition benches. Afridi secured 90 votes, while opposition candidates Maulana Lutfur Rehman (JUI-F), Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf (PML-N), and Arbab Zarak Khan (PPP) received none after their members walked out of the assembly session.
Afridi’s appointment follows the resignation of Ali Amin Gandapur on October 8, reportedly on the directives of PTI founder Imran Khan, who is currently incarcerated. Khan nominated Afridi as the new chief minister, describing him as a dynamic, loyal, and grassroots party leader.
Read: PTI’s Sohail Afridi Elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s New Chief Minister
A young PTI leader from Bara Tehsil in Khyber District, Afridi, previously served as Provincial Minister for Higher Education. He is widely recognised within PTI for his ideological commitment and close ties to the party’s grassroots structure, having joined the party during his student years.
