Senior politician Pervez Khattak is expected to finally become the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister following the disqualification of the previous occupant of the portfolio, Jahangir Khan Tareen. “Khattak’s choice was being widely predicted,” said Dr Ali Hassan, professor of political science at Peshawar University.
“First of all, even though it doesn’t matter that much, he’s got the whole de jure mumbo-jumbo covered. Second, he’s the party’s senior-most guy in KP, so it makes sense.” As per insider reports, ever since the polls of 2013, and the PTI’s subsequent victory in the province, Khattak, who was elected from a Nowshehra constituency, has been campaigning behind the scenes for his getting the province’s top slot, as opposed to the party choice Jahangir Khan Tareen.
The new chief minister is expected to bring with him his own team and his own culture of going about the affairs of governance. “Ever since I took an oath for becoming chief minister in 2013, I had started nursing a then-unrealistic goal of becoming chief minister,” said an emotional Khattak to reporters at a press conference in Peshawar.
“And now, I will finally become so.” Some political analysts, however, cautioned Khattak from announcing victory so soon since other party leaders like Aleem Khan and Faisal Vada were still in the running.