Jailed former PM Imran Khan appoints new party president for KP

Peshawar: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party supremo Imran Khan has appointed Member of National Assembly Junaid Akbar as the party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president, replacing Ali Amin Gandapur, the incumbent provincial party president, a source said on Saturday.

“The change has been made to lessen the burden on Ali Amin Gandapur who has a great deal of responsibilities as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister and faces several challenges in governance and ensuring law and order,” PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja told reporters outside Adiala Jail.

“Therefore, at his (Gandapur’s) request, (jailed former prime minister) Khan decided that Junaid Akbar Khan will become PTI president in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

A day ago, Akbar was elected chairman of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) unopposed, filling a position left vacant since the general elections in February last year.

After being appointed PTI KP president, Akbar in a statement on X expressed gratitude for his appointment and said that he was a middle-class person who got the opportunity because of his hard work, something that is not seen in other parties.

Speaking to reporters, Akbar said: “Do not confuse our good faith with weakness. We want the rift between the public and institutions to be closed. We will not be scared or pressured, because we are not a party that can be scared or pressured.”