PESHAWAR: The tribal elders from Mohmand district have appealed to all political parties not to oppose the nomination of Sohail Afridi, a young leader from the former Fata, for the position of chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Saturday, Haji Zabita Khan, head of the elders from Tehsil Baizai, along with Haji Lahori, Haji Fazal Manan, Haji Ghunday, Haji Multan Khan, Haji Barat Khan, and Haji Khanzada, expressed gratitude to PTI founder Imran Khan for selecting Sohail Afridi as a candidate for the chief ministership.

They also praised Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for his political foresight and for tendering his resignation immediately after Imran Khan’s directive in support of Sohail Afridi.

Haji Zabita Khan said that ever since Sohail Afridi’s name was floated for the chief minister’s slot, a wave of happiness had swept across the tribal areas. “We believe that this is not just about Sohail Afridi, in fact, Imran Khan has symbolically proposed every tribal youth by nominating him,” he said.

Demand solution to issues of tribal districts

He lamented that despite promises, the merged tribal districts (former Fata) still lacked basic necessities such as healthcare, education, clean drinking water, and employment opportunities. “Factories remain closed, and the Karpa Road project, under construction for the past 15 years, is still incomplete, causing frequent accidents,” he noted.

Haji Zabita Khan further said that they had no affiliation with any political party, including PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, or Jamaat-i-Islami, but appealed to all political forces to rise above party politics and support Sohail Afridi for the betterment of the tribal areas.

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“Our lands are fertile but without water, our villages exist but lack roads, our children are there but have no schools, and our patients suffer without hospitals,” he said. “We hope Sohail Afridi, once in power, will address these long-standing injustices, install solar-powered tube wells, and lay the foundation for real progress in the former Fata.”

He added that more than 150 tribal elders from Tehsil Baizai participated in the press conference, all united in their call for giving a fair chance to Sohail Afridi as chief minister so he could initiate long-awaited development projects in the tribal belt.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025