Newly elected KP CM pledges loyalty to Imran in fiery speech

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provincial president Ali Amin Gandapur, an independent member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly backed by Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), was elected as the 19th chief minister of the province by a two-third majority.

Ali Amin Gandapur bagged 90 votes while joint nominee of the opposition, Dr Ibadullah Khan, secured 16 votes. Gandapur has become the 16th chief minister of the province and would be sworn in today (Saturday) at 3pm at the Governor’s House.

After being elected as the chief minister, Gandapur delivered an emotional victory speech to the lawmakers. Gandapur pledged his allegiance to Imran Khan and his determination to advance Khan’s agenda. He expressed disappointment at his independent election rather than being elected from his party, and decried what he perceived as unfair treatment towards his party, including lodging of unjust FIRs and arrests.

The CM-elect defended Imran Khan, highlighting his imprisonment for advocating what he termed real freedom, empowerment of people and a sovereign foreign policy, particularly concerning Kashmir and Palestine. He underscored that their party had been unfairly obstructed, both during the elections and afterwards, with their mandate allegedly stolen.

Ali Amin narrated ordeals of his party people following the May 9 violent protests in the country. He claimed their party leader and Pakistan’s popular leader, Imran Khan, was jailed without any crime. He demanded a free and fair trial for the PTI founding chairman and his release from prison. “It never happened even in fascism what they have done to us in Pakistan,” he complained. He said their leader launched a political struggle 27 years ago for the Pakistani nation to give them what he called was real freedom. “Imran Khan would often say that we are not a free nation and he was absolutely right to say this as we are still being treated as slaves,” the chief minister said.

Ali Amin claimed that false cases were registered against their party candidates and other activists and demanded that those police cases should immediately be quashed. “We demand Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to form a judicial commission and investigate the May 9 violent incidents,” Gandapur said.

He said their election symbol was snatched from the PTI at the time of the general elections. He said there was no one to listen to their genuine complaints “but they remained calm and respected the state institutions”.

The chief minister said that nomination papers of 80 percent of their party candidates were rejected without any reason and their aim was to prevent them from contesting the election. He said each and every candidate had to approach the court for restoration of nomination papers.

The chief minister emphasized his commitment to refrain from political vengeance, but urged the administration to quash false FIRs against their innocent workers and leaders. He warned if these unjust actions continued, they would pursue legal recourse.

Gandapur said what had happened to them, they would never like it this to happen to others. “We don’t have any intention of seeking revenge. Our aim is to develop a system that can never be used to abuse others,” he pledged. He said they would continue their legal and political fight to get their mandate stolen.

Gandapur called for the establishment of a judicial commission to investigate election irregularities, highlighting the filing of ‘false’ FIRs against him in nine districts. He warned against unconstitutional actions and stressed his party’s commitment to restoring democracy.

Gandapur criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan for its ‘failure’ to ensure transparent elections and demanded the resignation of chief election commissioner. He pledged to combat corruption and prioritise peace and security by addressing the issue of terrorism, while focusing on economic development through taxation, reforms and the optimal utilisation of available resources.

The chief minister condemned illegal mining and vowed to prioritise agriculture, livestock, and youth employment opportunities. He promised to restore welfare programmes initiated by Imran Khan, including the health card scheme, and pledged to tackle inflation through legislative measures.

Also, he announced plans to set up a commission for overseas Pakistanis to address their issues and urged the opposition to raise its voice for the rights of the province and its people.

He said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had trusted them for the third time by electing them with an unprecedented majority, saying they would never disappoint them. He vowed he would not allow corruption in government and ensure a clean and transparent system.

Gandapur said he would restore free healthcare for the people under the Sehat Card Plus programme in Ramazan.

Earlier, the assembly session started one and a half hours late.

Four MPAs, including Ali Amin Gandapur, PMLN’s Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan Marwat and Dr Ibadullah Khan and Pakistan Peoples Party’s Arbab Zarak Khan, son of former federal minister Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan, had submitted nomination papers for the election of chief minister.

The documents of all the four contenders were declared valid but Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan and Arbab Zarak Khan had withdrawn their nomination papers on Thursday.

Following the procedure, the speaker announced the results, saying a total of 108 members took part in the election process. There were 92 PTI-backed independent MPAs, now part of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), in the House but Ali Amin polled 90 votes. Both PMLN and JUIF have nine members each in the assembly.

As they had previously done in the election of speaker and deputy speaker, Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam boycotted the election of the chief minister.

Meanwhile, the newly-elected chief minister, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, has reportedly chosen his 15-member provincial cabinet with most of them approved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan. Former finance and health minister and Imran Khan’s favourite Taimur Khan Jhagra is likely to get an important position in the new government.

According to senior leaders of the party, Imran Khan had directed his party leadership to appoint Taimur Jhagra as provincial minister rather than an adviser or assistant to the chief minister. Taimur Jhagra lost his election to a PMLN candidate, Jalal Khan, who was a little-known figure. Taimur Jhagra, Kamran Khan Bangash and six other PTI candidates have been protesting against the Peshawar district administration for alleged theft of their mandate. They also challenged it in the court.

According to party sources, Aqibullah Khan was likely to be adjusted in the cabinet.

They told The News that the party leadership had approved the appointment of 15 ministers and five advisors. Though PTI has officially not verified them, two senior party leaders confirmed some of them.

Those who were under consideration included Taimur Khan Jhagra, Fazal Elahi Khan, Meena Khan Afridi, Qasim Ali Shah from Peshawar, Khaliqur Rahman and Mian Omar from Nowshera, Dr Amjad Ali Khan from Swat, Mushtaq Ghani from Abbottabad, Shafi Jan from Kohat, Akbar Ayub from Haripur, Zahir Shah Toru from Mardan, Riaz Khan from Buner, Shakil Khan, Shafiullah Khan and Liaqat Ali Khan from the Malakand and Dir districts.

Besides them, Anwar Zaib Khan from Bajaur and Adnan Qadri from Khyber tribal district are also stated to be under consideration for the cabinet.

Also, the younger brother of Shahram Khan Tarakai from Swabi and Tariq Saeed who defeated veteran politician Salim Saifullah Khan Marwat in his native stronghold of Lakki Marwat were also stated to be under consideration for getting berths in the cabinet. Portfolios haven’t been decided yet, the sources said.