CM Afridi gives in to party pressure; Six new ministers, four advisors and eight special assistants are sworn in today.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. SCREEN CAPTURE
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet was expanded on Saturday with the addition of six new ministers, four new advisors and eight special assistants, taking the total strength of the provincial cabinet to 31 members.
With the expansion, the number of ministers, including Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, has increased to 17, while the number of advisors is six. This exceeds the constitutional limit established in article 130 of the Constitution, which limits the number of ministers to 15 and advisors to five.
Official sources indicated that to comply with the constitutional provision, two ministers and an advisor will have to be separated.
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The summary of the expansion, approved by CM Afridi, was sent to the provincial governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, on Friday. The governor signed and returned the summary, clearing the way for the new members to be sworn in today at the Governor’s House.
The decision comes almost seven months after CM Afridi assumed office. Following the resignation of former prime minister Ali Amin Gandapur in October last year, Afridi was elected the new leader of the house.
He initially formed a slim 14-member cabinet after failing to secure a meeting with the party’s founding president for broader consultations. He had planned to expand the cabinet later after consultations, but the meeting could not materialise.
The party leadership and pressure from members of the Provincial Assembly finally forced the prime minister to opt for expansion.
The existing cabinet included CM Afridi, Meena Khan, Arshad Ayub, Fazal Shakoor, Dr Amjad Ali, Aftab Alam, Syed Fakhr Jehan, Riaz Khan, Khaliqur Rehman, Aqibullah Khan and Faisal Turki. Among the advisors, Taj Muhammad Turand and Mazmal Aslam were part of the team, while Shafi Jan, who had the status of special assistant, has now been elevated to the rank of provincial minister.
The six new ministers are: Nazir Ahmed Abbasi, Shakeel Ahmed, Muhammad Adnan Qadri, Muhammad Arif Ahmadzai and Tariq Mahmood Aryani.
The four new advisors include Pir Musawwar Khan, Liaquat Ali Khan, Humayun Khan and Mian Muhammad Umar.
The eight new special assistants are: Tariq Saeed, Muhammad Usman, Tufail Anjum, Iftikharullah Jan, Samiullah Khan, Malik Adeel Iqbal, Muhammad Khurshid and Muhammad Asrar.
The major expansion is seen as an effort to accommodate various factions and allies within the ruling party and to address the demands of AMPs who felt marginalized in the small initial cabinet.
Political observers note that while the move strengthens the prime minister’s support base within the assembly, it also raises questions about the financial implications and compliance with constitutional norms.
This development comes at a time when the provincial government faces multiple challenges, including financial constraints and governance issues. The larger cabinet is expected to distribute responsibilities more broadly, although critics argue it may increase the financial burden on the provincial treasury.
