• Size of all-male cabinet swells to 13 with addition of two advisers, a special assistant
• PM says he offered Afridi federal govt’s full support; claims CM ‘rejected’ offer
• Afridi, Kundi meet to discuss law & order situation

PESHAWAR: Ten members of the newly-formed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet took oath of office on Friday at a ceremony held at the Governor House in Peshawar.

Earlier, speculations were rife and many names circulated on social media; however, the final list was shared late on Thursday night.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath to 10 provincial ministers, according to a statement from his office.

They included Meena Khan Afridi, Arshad Ayub Khan, Amjad Ali, Aftab Alam Afridi, Fazal Shakoor Khan, Khaleequr Rehman, Riaz Khan, Syed Fakhar Jehan, Aqibullah Khan and Faisal Khan Tarakai, it added.

“[The] KP governor congratulated the newly sworn-in provincial ministers and expressed his best wishes to them.”

A statement issued from the Governor House read that both men also talked about public welfare projects, along with plans for the province’s development and prosperity

KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, provincial assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, Chief Secretary Shehab Ali Shah, provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hamid, heads of administrative departments, as well as political and social personalities were also present at the ceremony.

Moreover, Muzammil Aslam and Taj Muhammad have been appointed as advisers to the chief minister, while Shafiullah Jan has been named a special assistant — bringing the total strength of the provincial cabinet to 13.

PM offers olive branch

PM Shehbaz Sharif, who was also on a visit to Chitral on Friday, said that he had sent a congratulatory message to CM Afridi, pledging to respect democracy and the mandate of the people, and inviting him to work together.

He claimed that although the invitation was rejected, he was still hoping to collaborate to make the country greater than ever.

“I told him [CM Afridi] that the federal government will extend full support to the KP government for the welfare of the people.”

The prime minister, through the KP chief secretary and police chief — who were present on the occasion — conveyed his greetings to CM Afridi and once again invited him to join in building Pakistan, in line with the vision of Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-i-Azam.

Law and order

Following the ceremony, Mr Kundi and CM Afridi also held a meeting at the Governor House and discussed the overall law and order situation in the province.

It added that they also held consultations regarding the province’s rights in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

The statement read that both the leaders agreed to work jointly and play their roles for the province’s rights.

“There is a need to raise a unified voice on every forum for the rights of the province and its people,” the statement quoted Mr Kundi as saying.

The governor also said that they would work jointly for development and peace in the province.

Zahiruddin in Chitral also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2025