KP cabinet swells to 31 as CM Afridi expands team amid ‘political pressure’

• Cabinet expansion includes six ministers, four advisers and eight special assistants

• Cabinet strength exceeds constitutional limit under Article 130 as officials say two ministers and one adviser may be dropped

• Governor Faisal Karim Kundi approves expansion summary

 PESHAWAR: The strength of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet has risen to 31 members following the induction of six new ministers, four advisers and eight special assistants after Governor Faisal Karim Kundi returned the summary forwarded by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi after granting approval.

With the expansion, the number of provincial ministers, including the chief minister, has increased to 17, while advisers have risen to six—exceeding the constitutional ceiling under Article 130 of the Constitution, which allows a maximum of 15 ministers and five advisers.

وزیراعلیٰ خیبرپختونخوا محمد سہیل خان آفریدی @SohailAfridiISF کی ہدایت پر خیبرپختونخوا کابینہ میں نئے مشیر اور معاونین خصوصی کا اعلامیہ جاری کردیا گیا ہے.

خیبرپختونخوا کابینہ میں شامل ہونے والے نئے مشیران:

1. پیر مصور خان غازی
2. لیاقت علی خان
3. ہمایوں خان
4. میاں محمد عمر… pic.twitter.com/a2ckJid0lz

— Government of KP (@GovernmentKP) May 16, 2026

According to official sources, two ministers and one adviser are expected to be dropped in order to bring the cabinet within constitutional limits.

The expansion summary, approved by CM Afridi, was forwarded to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday. Subsequently, the governor signed and returned the summary, paving the way for the newly inducted members to take oath at the Governor’s House.

The development comes nearly seven months after CM Afridi assumed office. Following the resignation of former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur in October last year, Afridi was elected as leader of the house.

Initially, he formed a lean 14-member cabinet, reportedly due to limited internal consultations within the party leadership. Plans for further expansion were delayed as broader party consultations could not materialise at the time.

However, pressure from party lawmakers and various MPAs later prompted the chief minister to proceed with the expansion.

The existing cabinet included the chief minister and ministers Meena Khan, Arshad Ayub, Fazal Shakoor, Dr Amjad Ali, Aftab Alam, Syed Fakhr Jehan, Riaz Khan, Khaliqur Rehman, Aqibullah Khan and Faisal Turki. Among advisers, Taj Muhammad Turand and Muzamil Aslam were part of the setup, while Shafi Jan, previously serving as special assistant, has now been elevated to ministerial rank.

The six newly inducted ministers are Nazir Ahmed Abbasi, Shakeel Ahmed, Muhammad Adnan Qadri, Muhammad Arif Ahmadzai and Tariq Mahmood Aryani.

The four new advisers include Pir Musawwar Khan, Liaquat Ali Khan, Humayun Khan and Mian Muhammad Umar.

The eight newly appointed special assistants are Tariq Saeed, Muhammad Usman, Tufail Anjum, Iftikharullah Jan, Samiullah Khan, Malik Adeel Iqbal, Muhammad Khurshid and Muhammad Asrar.

The expansion is widely seen as an effort to accommodate internal party factions and coalition partners, as well as to address longstanding demands from MPAs who felt underrepresented in the initial smaller cabinet.