The general secretary of jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party confirmed on Wednesday that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has been removed from his position.
Salman Akram Raja, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) general secretary, announced that the former cricketer-turned-politician, Imran Khan, has nominated Suhail Afridi as the new chief minister for the province.
Raja made this statement to the media outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, following a meeting with the 73-year-old imprisoned party founder.
During their meeting, Mr. Khan also strongly condemned the recent killing of 11 soldiers in the Orakzai district, according to Raja.
The army reported that a minimum of 11 military personnel, including a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, lost their lives in clashes with Taliban militants. These fatalities occurred during an intelligence-based operation in the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan.
According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, 19 terrorists associated with ‘Fitna al-Khawarij’ were also killed during the same operation, which took place in Orakzai district.
It’s important to note that the Pakistani government had previously designated the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as “Fitna al-Khawarij,” a term referring to a historical Islamic group known for its violent activities.