The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cabinet is set to be finalised after the approval of Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf's (PTI) incarcerated founder Imran Khan, sources said quoting newly-elected KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday. "I would meet the PTI founder over [matters pertaining to the formation of the] KP cabinet on Monday (March 4)," Gandapur said. Sources say that the list of prospective cabinet members, which is to be tabled before Khan in the coming days, provisions more than 15 names including Mushtaq Ghani, Khaleeq ur Rehman, Aqib Ullah Khan. The development comes days after newly-elected members of the provincial legislature were sworn in by now-former speaker Mushtaq Ghani in a ruckus-hit inaugural assembly session. The assembly then went on to elect Babar Saleem Khan Swati and Suriya Bibi as the House's speaker and deputy speaker, respectively, which was followed by the election of the province's chief minister.

A day earlier, after being elected as chief minister by 90 votes against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Dr Ibadullah Khan's 16 votes, Gandapur delivered a fiery victory speech wherein he demanded the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja to resign alleging his role in the stealing of his party's mandate in the February 8 general elections. The CM also promised that he would not do corruption and would not let anyone else do it. Talking about the economic situation of KP, Gandapur said that he will focus on increasing the revenue of the province. He added that they will not burden the poor anymore. "We will give property, right to inheritance, free legal assistance to women," he promised, adding that they will invest in trade and business development to create employment.

The CM also said that the people will get a health card from the first day of Ramadan, adding that they will form a commission for overseas Pakistanis. Following the February 8 polls, the PTI-backed independent candidates, who have since joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), emerged as the largest party with around 90 seats — out of the 115 general seats in the 145-member house — allowing the party to form its government in the province for the third consecutive time. Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has managed to secure seven seats, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) five, and Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) four seats. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-Parliamentarians (PTI-P) and Awami National Party (ANP) have won two and one seats, respectively.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)