Khattak unlikely to bag KP CM office

PESHAWAR: While Pervez Khattak has claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) senior leadership has chosen to retain him on the post of chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), there are a number of reasons this can be doubted.

In order to form a stable government at the federal level, the PTI needs all of its National Assembly seats. As such, Khattak could possibly be asked to give up the two seats he won in the KP Assembly and maintain his National Assembly seat.

Former speaker of the KP Assembly Asad Qaiser is facing a similar problem. While he won a National Assembly seat and a provincial assembly seat, he too may be asked to give up the latter in favour of the former.

The PTI can afford to lose a handful of seats in KP given it attained two-thirds majority in the province.

Muhammad Atif Khan would therefore have the highest chance of attaining the much coveted post because he lost the contest for a national Assembly seat to Awami National Party’s (ANP) Ameer Haider Hoti.

Atif Khan has considerable support within the party as well, with Imran Khan having previously praised his performance as former provincial education minister.

Atif Khan said that the final decision would be reached by the PTI leadership but added that 35 members of provincial assembly visited him and expressed their support for his contention for the post.