PESHAWAR: A 10-member provincial cabinet selected by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister (CM) Sohail Afridi formally took the oath of office on Friday, marking the completion of the long-awaited process of cabinet formation. The ceremony, held at the Governor’s House in Peshawar, was administered by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
According to an official statement issued by the KP government, the newly sworn-in ministers include Meena Khan Afridi, Arshad Ayub Khan, Amjad Ali, Aftab Alam Afridi, Fazal Shakoor Khan, Khaliq-ur-Rehman, Riaz Khan, Syed Fakhar Jahan, Aqibullah Khan, and Faisal Khan. Alongside them, two advisers — Muzammil Aslam and Taj Muhammad — and one special assistant, Shafi Jan, were also inducted into the provincial government.
Governor Kundi congratulated the new cabinet members and expressed optimism that the team would work diligently to serve the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and address the province’s pressing challenges.
The formation of the cabinet follows weeks of political speculation and delays. CM Afridi, who was elected earlier this month, had initially stated that he would finalize his team only after meeting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, currently incarcerated. However, after multiple unsuccessful attempts to secure a meeting, Imran’s sister reportedly conveyed that Afridi had “complete authority” to make the appointments independently.
Opposition lawmakers had sharply criticized the PTI-led provincial government over the delay, warning that the absence of a cabinet was paralyzing administrative functions and could potentially invite constitutional complications.
Former KP finance minister Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra congratulated the new cabinet members in a post on social media, extending best wishes for their tenure.
PTI’s provincial leadership had earlier emphasized that individuals facing corruption allegations or holding tarnished reputations should be excluded from the new cabinet — a stance that appeared to shape the final selection.
With the new team in place, CM Sohail Afridi now faces the challenge of steering the province through economic and governance hurdles while maintaining unity within the PTI ranks.
