Sardar Mohammad Riaz, the MPA-elect from PK-33 (Kolai-Palas), has joined independents backed by the PTI.

“I have joined PTI as people of my constituency are still living without basic amenities, and I want to bring Kolai-Palas among prosperous and developed districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Riaz, who earlier met Ali Amin Gandapur, the nominee for the chief minister slot, expressed optimism that the new provincial government would launch such development programmes which could improve the living standard of the people in remote parts of the province like Kolai-Palas.

Two of three seats of the provincial assembly in Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts were won by the independents not backed by PTI, and one of them so far joined the latter.