Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf removes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Gandapur

Peshawar, Oct 8 (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was on Wednesday removed from office by jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party, a day after 11 military personnel were killed in an attack in the restive province’s Orakzai district.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary general Salman Akram Raja confirmed that Gandapur has been removed from office and he would be replaced by Muhammad Sohail Afridi as approved by the former cricketer-turned-politician.

Raja made the announcement while talking to the media after meeting the 73-year-old party founder in Rawalpindi’s Adaila Jail where he has been lodged since August 2023.

At least 11 military personnel, including a Lt Colonel and a Major, were killed in clashes with the Taliban militants on Tuesday night during an intelligence-based operation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) - the media wing of the military - said that 19 terrorists of the ‘Fitna al-Khawarij’ were also killed during the operation in Orakzai district.

Gandapur, announcing his resignation, said, “The position of Chief Minister was a trust given to me by Imran Khan, and in accordance with his instructions, I am returning that trust to him by resigning from my post.” Addressing a media briefing in Rawalpindi later, Raja said removing Gandapur was Khan’s decision as the PTI founder was upset with the incident in Orakzai and told him that he had to change the chief minister.

Speaking on the law-and-order situation, Raja said the province is witnessing the “worst situation of terrorism”.

“There have been a record number of incidents this year,” he added.

Expressing grief over the death of soldiers in Orakzai incident, Raja said that Khan told him that he has now been left with no choice but to bring about a change in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Raja further said that Khan told him that for over two years he held the stance that the federal government’s policies were “very wrong” and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government “should disassociate itself from it”.

Earlier, PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan said he had not made “any statement to the media” about the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister.

“This to clarify that I have not made any statement to the media about Ali Amin Gandapur. I have not spoken to any media outlet that ‘news about change of CM KP is fake or is a conspiracy against the party’,” Gohar said in a social media post.

The PTI chairman posted the statement on X after various media outlets reported that Gandapur was to be removed from his role.

The development comes about a week after the PTI found itself embroiled in another controversy after Khan’s sister Aleema Khan and Gandapur exchanged grave allegations, with the latter accusing Aleema of provoking rifts in the party. PTI AYZ GSP GSP