PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) nominee Mehmood Khan was elected as the new chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) during the assembly session on Thursday.
Mehmood Khan received 77 votes against the opposition candidate Mian Nisar Gul who bagged 33 votes.
For the polling, the PTI-affiliated members of the assembly went to lobby number 2 and the opposition lawmakers went to lobby number 1 in the assembly hall where all the members were counted.
Amjad Afridi, a dissident lawmaker of PTI, voted for opposition’s Mian Nisar Gul.
The newly elected speaker of KP Assembly, Mushtaq Ghani, announced Khan’s victory for the top office after a vote count.
Mehmood Khan has been elected as chief minister for a term of five years and will take the oath of office on Friday.
Several lawmakers spoke on the occasion. The opposition’s Akram Khan Durrani, who is also the former chief minister of KP, reiterated opposition parties’ cry of “worst rigging in the elections.”
Durrani questioned the failure of Results Transmission System (RTS) to deliver the results directly from the polling station.
In his speech, the newly elected chief minister said that the PTI provincial government would try to complete the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in Peshawar and Swat Expressway on priority.
“We also have government in the center. Hopefully, we will be better able to serve the people this time and would work in all sectors including health, education and other social sectors,” said Khan.
The chief minister said his government would fight corruption and focus on generating employment.
Brief profile
Mehmood Khan is the first chief minister ever elected from the underdeveloped and hilly Malakand Division. He was elected to the provincial assembly from PK-9, Swat district.
Khan was born in Swat in 1972. He completed his initial education in Khwazakhela area of Swat and later moved to Peshawar. He received a masters degree in agriculture from the University of Peshawar.
He was elected as union council nazim in the 2008 local government elections as an independent candidate.
Although his family was always associated with the Pakistan Peoples’ Party, Mahmood joined the PTI in 2012 and rose to the office of PTI president of Malakand division.
He served as minister for agriculture from 2013 to 2015 and minister for sports, culture and tourism from 2015 to 2018.
The newly elected KP government is confronted with serious security and economic challenges, according to Brig Saad Muhammad, a senior analyst. He said reaching out to politically inaccessible areas of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the wake of KP-FATA merger, equipping and capacity building of Levies force of the tribal districts, and controlling cross border infiltration of militants will need urgent attention of the new KP government.
Prof Dr. Mohammad Taieb, head of the Social Anthropology Department at University of Peshawar, says the fact that PTI has a government in the center as well is likely to help the provincial government in KP.
However, he said the new government should work on three major issues to serve the public in its true sense.
“They should work to provide education and health facilities and control inflation for the public to feel immediate relief.”
KP Assembly elects PTI’s Mehmood Khan as new chief minister
KP Assembly elects PTI’s Mehmood Khan as new chief minister
- The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf candidate Mehmood Khan received 77 votes against the 33 bagged by his opponent Mian Nisar Gul
- The newly elected speaker of KP Assembly, Mushtaq Ghani, announced Khan’s victory for the top office after a vote count
Pakistan condemns Israel’s plan to open Rafah crossing only for fleeing Gazans
- Israel announced this week it would reopen Rafah crossing only for Palestinians fleeing Gaza to Egypt
- Deputy PM Dar speaks to Saudi foreign minister, labels move “clear violation” of the Gaza peace plan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday condemned Israel’s plan to partially reopen the Rafah crossing only for fleeing residents of Gaza, describing it as a “clear violation” of the region’s peace plan.
US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza calls for Israeli authorities to let in humanitarian aid into the territory and open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt from both sides.
Israel, however, has continued to restrict the entry of aid, while a military unit called Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said this Wednesday the crossing will open in the coming days “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt.”
Dar, who is also Pakistan’s foreign minister, held a telephonic conversation with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss regional developments, particularly Gaza, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“During the telephonic conversation, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister strongly condemned Israel’s unilateral plan to restrict the Rafah crossing for the exit only of Gaza residents, a clear violation of the peace plan and a move that undermines humanitarian access,” the state media said.
The statement said both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring “unfettered aid to Gaza” and advancing coordinated efforts toward lasting peace.
Despite Israel’s statement, Egypt has denied it has struck any deal with Tel Aviv on the reopening of the crossing and has said it will open only if movement takes place both ways.
COGAT’s statement this week has raised concerns that the partial reopening of the crossing will lead to mass displacement of Palestinians.
