PESHAWAR: The newly-elected deputy chairman of the Senate, Mirza Mohammad Afridi, is the first parliamentarian from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas to occupy the coveted post in parliament.

Hailing from Khyber tribal district, Mirza Afridi was elected member of the Senate as an independent candidate in 2018 elections. After the polls, he joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, but later switched over to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) the same year.

Mirza Afridi, who belongs to Sepah clan, a sub-tribe of Afridi tribe, is a Lahore-based business tycoon who has investment in textile and electronics.

The lawmaker is a business tycoon, amateur chess player

Mirza Afridi’s family had been taking part in electoral politics and remained associated with all major political parties. His uncle Mohammad Shah Afridi was elected senator during the Benazir Bhutto era. One of his close relatives, Mohammad Ayub Afridi, was elected senator on the PTI ticket in 2018, while another close relative Manzoor Afridi is considered close to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Mr Manzoor had also been considered for the post of caretaker chief minister in 2018.

Mirza Afridi is an amateur chess player and he was elected president of the Chess Federation of Pakistan in January.

Javed Afridi, owner of the Peshawar Zalmi franchise and a cousin of Mirza Afridi, termed his election as Senate deputy chairman a big win for the people of the tribal districts.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Javed said that Mirza Afridi was a highly educated person who also earned a master’s in business administration from Singapore. He would play his role on the legislation side for the welfare of the deprived people, Mr Javed said.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2021