PTI-backed Khurram Zeeshan wins KP Senate seat, vows to uphold ‘true freedom’ vision

• Secures 91 out of 137 votes to defeat opposition’s Taj Mohammad Afridi
• CM Sohail Afridi hails victory as reaffirmation of PTI’s unity and strength
• Afridi calls for clear national policy on terrorism, warns ‘KP is not a laboratory’

PESHAWAR: PTI-backed independent candidate Khurram Zeeshan on Thursday clinched victory in the Senate by-election from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, securing 91 out of 137 votes cast, defeating opposition-backed Taj Mohammad Afridi, who received 45 votes.

The seat had fallen vacant following the disqualification of PTI leader Shibli Faraz, the former opposition leader in the Senate, after his conviction in cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.

According to the provincial election commissioner Saeed Gul, who served as the returning officer, polling began at 9:30am and concluded at 4:00pm. A total of 145 KP Assembly members were eligible to vote; however, eight lawmakers, including four from the Awami National Party (ANP), abstained, while one vote was rejected. A minimum of 75 votes was required to secure the seat.

After the official results were announced, Zeeshan posted a brief message on Facebook, saying, “Thank God.” Speaking to reporters outside the KP Assembly, the newly elected senator declared, “Our priority is Pakistan’s haqeeqi azadi (true freedom),” echoing PTI founder Imran Khan’s long-standing slogan.

Though three candidates were initially in the running, the main contest centered on Zeeshan and Afridi. PTI’s Irfan Saleem, who was also on the ballot, served as Zeeshan’s covering candidate. Two other hopefuls—independent Abid Khan Yousafzai and PPP’s Nisar Khan—withdrew their nominations ahead of the polls.

Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, a PTI lawmaker, also cast his vote and publicly voiced support for Zeeshan on X, calling his victory “a testament to the party’s unity and democratic strength.”

Zeeshan and Saleem had previously been nominated by PTI for the 2024 Senate elections, which were postponed and later conducted in July this year. The disqualified senator Taj Mohammad Afridi, who hails from the Khyber tribal district, was earlier reported as one of the wealthiest senators in 2020, with declared assets exceeding Rs1.22 billion.

A day before the polling, a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by Shibli Faraz’s counsel seeking a stay on the Senate by-election. Faraz had challenged his disqualification and de-notification before the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which earlier this month rejected his request for interim relief and directed him to surrender before the relevant court before pursuing any further legal remedy.

CM Afridi to announce ‘brief’ KP cabinet after Senate polls

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced that he would unveil a “brief” provincial cabinet following the conclusion of the Senate by-election. The statement comes two days after PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister assured the newly appointed CM that he had “complete authority” to form his government’s cabinet—after the chief minister was once again denied a meeting with the incarcerated PTI founder.

Opposition lawmakers in the KP Assembly have sharply criticized the PTI-led government for delays in cabinet formation, arguing that it has paralyzed provincial affairs and could lead to administrative stagnation. Some even warned that the prolonged impasse risked “creating conditions for the imposition of emergency” in the province.

Speaking to reporters in Peshawar, CM Afridi defended his government’s performance, saying PTI had secured power in KP for a third consecutive term due to its record of good governance. He said he was among those permitted to meet Imran Khan today, adding that if authorities again barred the meeting, he would file a contempt petition against the Adiala jail administration for ignoring Islamabad High Court directives.

KP’s role in Pak-Afghan security talks

Addressing questions on recent counterterrorism talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, CM Afridi asserted that the KP government was a key stakeholder and should have been taken into confidence before any decisions were made.

While welcoming the dialogue, the chief minister said his administration held “some reservations,” emphasizing that security policies impacting KP—a province that has “sacrificed more than 80,000 lives in the war against ”terrorism”—should not be formulated behind closed doors.

He criticized what he described as “inconsistent national approaches” toward militancy, remarking, “One person comes with his formula and turns them into Mujahideen and heroes. Another conducts operations. A third talks about rehabilitation. Then a fourth person again decides to conduct operations. This is not a laboratory—this is our province.”

Afridi urged for a clear, unified national policy to eradicate terrorism once and for all, lamenting that despite “thousands of intelligence-based operations,” militancy persisted in KP. He further demanded legal accountability for collateral damage caused by drone strikes, saying that a parliamentary committee had begun discussions on introducing new legislative measures to address the issue.