Daily Times

Mahmood Khan, the newly elected chief minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), on Friday took oath of his office in a remarkable ceremony at Governor House Peshawar.

Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra administered the oath to the new chief minister who became the 22nd leader of the House.

The ceremony was attended by lawmakers, bureaucrats, civil society members and businessmen..

Earlier on Thursday, Khan was elected the provincial chief minister in a one-sided contest, securing 77 votes against 33 of Mian Nisar Gul Kakahel, the joint opposition’s candidate.

After the announcement of his victory, Khan, who hails from Swat, addressed the KP Assembly. He assured opposition lawmakers that he would proceed in all important matters after taking them into confidence.

He said he would leave no stone unturned to serve the masses and carry out development work in all constituencies of the province. He declared a war against corruption and resolved to discourage the trend of exploitation.

Referring to the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Khan said his government would need active support of opposition to settle the issue according to the aspirations of tribal people. He said all-out measures would be taken to protect the minorities and improve health and education sectors.

Khan said steps would be expedited for early completion of Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Swat Expressway projects, besides exploration of ways to generate revenue for the projects.

Formerly a sports minister in previous KP Assembly cabinet, Khan started his political career as a union council nazim in Matta tehsil of Swat. He won the July 25 election from PK-9 Swat by securing 25,697 votes.

Currently in-charge of the party’s Malakand division, Khan’s association with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) started back in 2012.

Published in Daily Times, August 18^th 2018.