PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday said he will resign as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister soon after party general secretary Salman Akram Raja confirmed that party founder Imran Khan directed Sohail Afridi to take over as provincial chief executive.
At just 35 years old, Afridi has become one of the most prominent young faces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s political paradigm. Representing PK-70 Bara for the first time as an MPA, Afridi’s political struggle reflects a steady rise from student activism to a cabinet position.
Born in 1989 in Bara tehsil, Khyber district, Afridi’s roots lie deep in the tribal heartland, an area that has undergone immense transformation in recent years. With a degree in Economics, his early years were marked by his involvement in student politics, a platform that paved the way for his future in the provincial government.
Afridi served as provincial president of Insaf Students Federation (ISF), the student wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), where he gained recognition for mobilizing youth and advocating for educational reforms. His tenure in the ISF helped him establish a grassroots political base, particularly among students and first-time voters.
Elected to the KP Assembly from the PK-70 Bara in 2024, Afridi made his legislative debut with a strong mandate from his native constituency. Later that year, he was inducted into the provincial cabinet as special assistant to the chief minister on communications, a role in which he contributed to the province’s connectivity and infrastructure agenda.
Last week, in a reshuffle within the provincial cabinet, Afridi was elevated to the position of minister of higher education, a portfolio that closely aligns with his academic background and early political activism.
Irfan Saleem, additional general secretary of PTI and president of the party in Peshawar, said sunrise.com that Afridi has been loyal to the party since his student life, adding that whenever Imran Khan called for protest, he would stand in the front row.
“He saw difficulties and jails for the party,” Saleem said. “We hope he will take forward Imran Khan’s cause.”
“When there were drone attacks, the Bara Khyber incident or other issues, he raised his voice,” he added. “He knows the party well and will take charge of it to end the polarization.”
Another PTI leader in KP, Information Undersecretary and Social Media Director Ikram Katahna, said sunrise.com“We welcome this decision because we support Khan and his decisions.”
Katahna added that Afridi is a grassroots worker and “a common man like us and he reached this stage.”
“The PTI is a party of the common people and the nomination of Sohail Afridi proves it,” he added.
