PTI Affirms Afridi Remains KP Chief Minister
PTI affirms Afridi remains KP chief minister, the party said on Thursday, 29 October 2026, ruling out any move to consider an alternative candidate for the office. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said Sohail Afridi would continue in the role with the support of party founder Imran Khan.
The statement came in a notification from the party’s central secretariat, shared by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. It said Afridi “remains and shall continue” to serve as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister with the “confidence and support” of Imran Khan.
The notification directed all party members, office-bearers, parliamentarians and functionaries not to convene or take part in meetings, introduce agendas, or start or entertain discussions about the nomination or replacement of the chief minister. It added that no one other than Imran Khan had the authority to nominate an alternative candidate or alter the decision, and that his decisions were final and binding on all party members.
PTI affirms Afridi amid internal rift
The notification was issued to end speculation about the chief minister’s position. Gohar said on X that KP Assembly members were a source of pride for the party, had stayed loyal to Imran Khan, and had complied with every decision. He said the clarification was needed because of unnecessary speculation on social media and some television channels.
Afridi has not been seen in public since the Centre imposed governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on 11 October, after talks between the government and the opposition failed. A federal minister confirmed the next day that Afridi and some of his cabinet members were in preventive custody.
A day before the notification, an anti-terrorism court in Peshawar issued arrest warrants for Afridi and other PTI leaders and office-bearers in the May 9 Radio Pakistan attack case. Feature Pakistan covered those warrants in Peshawar ATC issues arrest warrants for Sohail Afridi.
The party has also faced open internal disagreement in recent weeks. On 21 October, former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja exchanged barbs over internal divisions, the provincial leadership and the handling of the party’s political affairs. Raja warned of attempts by what he called undemocratic decision-makers to undermine internal consensus, while Gandapur demanded that he substantiate his allegations and apologise.
A seven-hour meeting exposed the divisions
The tensions spilled into the open at a joint parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday that lasted more than seven hours. Some members questioned why the top leadership had handed so much authority to Afridi, who they said held no position within the party hierarchy. Others criticised the chairman and the secretary general, and alleged that the leadership had left everything to Afridi, who had become non-functional after governor’s rule, because of its interest in transfers, postings and financial matters in the province.
On 24 October, Gohar had already tried to contain the fallout with a notification stating that the party’s provincial organisation in KP would continue to function under the presidency of Junaid Akbar, and that no changes to the provincial cabinet or organisational structure were on the cards. That notification also said Senator Noorul Haq Qadri, the party’s senior vice-president in KP, would preside over meetings of the provincial cabinet in Akbar’s absence, and that General Secretary Ali Asghar would chair meetings in Qadri’s absence.
Thursday’s notification goes further. It does not just settle the organisational question. It closes down any discussion of a successor, and it places the decision solely with Imran Khan. For a party that has been arguing in public about who runs KP, that is a firm statement of control.
The wider question remains unresolved. Governor’s rule in KP, and the related debate about its future, were covered in KP governor’s rule and the six-month question and in Fazl calls for a new Charter of Democracy. The PTI notification settles the party’s internal position, but it does not change the constitutional position in the province, where Afridi remains non-functional while governor’s rule is in force.
Frequently asked questions
What did the PTI notification say about Sohail Afridi?
It said Afridi remains and shall continue as KP chief minister with the confidence and support of Imran Khan, and barred members from discussing a replacement.
