Daily Times

Opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday nominated Mian Nisar Gul for the slot of chief minister.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has already nominated Mehmood Khan for the office.

Since the party has two thirds majority in the Assembly, the outcome of the election is a foregone conclusion, and Khan has already selected members of the provincial cabinet. They include Atif Khan, Shahram Tarakai, Mushtaq Ghani, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Sultan Mohammad, Istiaq Urmar, Ziaullah Bangash, Amjad Ali, Malik Qasim and Humayun Khan.

PTI had made the announcement of its candidate’s name for the CM slot on August 8. Mehmood Khan’s name came as a surprise for many since until the last moment, Atif Khan was being considered a favourite to run for the office.

Mehmood Khan was born in Matta tehsil of Swat in 1972. He got early education from Government Primary School Matta and then obtained certificate of Matriculation from Peshawar Public School. He did his masters from Agriculture University of Peshawar.

From 2007 to 2012, he served as the nazim of Union Council Khariri in Matta. He got elected elected as an MPA on PK-8 in 2013, and held portfolios of sports, culture, and irrigation in the cabinet of Pervez Khattak. He has also been K-P irrigation and interior minister but for a very brief period of time. In the July 25 election, he bagged 25,697 votes from PK 8.

Published in Daily Times, August 15^th 2018.