Junaid Akbar replaces Gandapur as PTI KP president

RAWALPINDI: Imran Khan, the founding chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), named Junaid Akbar the party's president of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday.

This comes after Akbar was elected head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with backing from the government and opposition.

The PAC is considered one of the most powerful parliamentary bodies, with the authority to summon any individual or record from government departments in financial matters.

Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has issued Akbar's appointment notification, replacing Ali Amin Gandapur, who is also serving as the province's chief minister.

The PTI founder has also instructed Raja to provide consultation for the party's reorganisation in Punjab.

Raja said Gandapur himself did not want to remain the party provincial president. He said the PTI supremo also directed the KP chief minister to focus on terrorism and governance affairs in the province.

Khan, whose party is in power in KP, has expressed concerns over corruption issues in the province, sources told Geo News. The sources further revealed that the PTI founder had instructed Gandapur to come out of Dera Ismail Khan's politics.

The former prime minister also held an extended discussion with Akbar and Atif Khan, engaging with them on various matters, sources added.

Additionally, Akbar has been tasked by the PTI founder to address and resolve party matters in KP, according to sources.

Akbar, who is also a Member of the National Assembly (MNA), filled the PAC chairman post, which had been lying vacant since the government came into power following the February 2024 elections.

As per parliamentary norms established following the 2008 general elections, the chair of the PAC is traditionally allotted to the opposition, a practice which continues till today.