PESHAWAR:
The political threat looming over Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s government appears to have diminished significantly after 22 out of 35 independent members in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly aligned themselves with the treasury benches.
Among these independents, 11 are already part of the provincial cabinet, while nine others have been appointed as parliamentary secretaries. Notably, the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly and the Chairman of the District Development Advisory Committee (DDAC) Peshawar also hail from this group, leaving only 13 independent members outside the government fold.
Even if all 13 remaining independents were to side with the opposition, the combined strength would rise to just 65 — still short of the 73 votes required to bring about a change in government in the 145-member house.
Following the allocation of 25 reserved seats to opposition parties, their numbers rose to 52, shifting political focus to the independents occupying government benches. Speculation was rife over how many of them might defect to help the opposition reach the crucial figure of 73.
However, the picture became clearer as it emerged that 11 independents are already integrated into Gandapur’s team. These include ministers Aftab Alam, Fazal Hakim, Muhammad Adnan Qadri, Meena Khan, Khaliqur Rehman; advisers Zahid Chanzeb; special assistants Ranjeet Ahmed, Muhammad Sohail Afridi, Masoor Khan, Dr Amjad Ali, and Liaquat Ali.
Additionally, nine more independents have been appointed as parliamentary secretaries.
