Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday strongly criticized the expansion in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cabinet, claiming that there was no governance in the province with rampant corruption and financial mismanagement in the administration.
The KP cabinet was expanded last week with the induction of six new ministers, four new advisers and eight special assistants, bringing the total strength of the provincial cabinet to 31 members.
With the expansion, the number of ministers, including Prime Minister Sohail Afridi, rose to 17, while the number of advisers stood at six. This exceeded the constitutional cap set by Article 130 of the Constitution, which limits the number of ministers to 15 and advisers to five.
In a post on X Today, Tarar said, “There is no such thing as governance in KP. Corruption and mismanagement are at their peak. Lavish expenditure is incurred and public money is spent on politics.”
He also questioned the expansion of the provincial cabinet, suggesting that the appointment of ministers and advisers was based solely on political loyalty. “Apart from incompetence, there is no other criterion for choosing these ministers and advisers,” he said.
He also criticized the government’s results over the past 12 years. “Provincial affairs have never been so poor,” Tarar added.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa में गुर्नननस नाम की की जीज नहीं corruption and bad titles are on the rise. শাহান্ত ক্র্তি কায়া জা জান হান এর স্ত্ত্যা প্র্যায়ি পিস্ত کابینت کی نرز کے دی کی هیہ, نا احلی ک کے اِن ویزراء ابور مش کا کوی ور کیترین کیا کایبینت کی نرز کریں…
— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) 18 May 2026
The expansion outline, approved by Afridi, was forwarded to provincial governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday. The governor signed and returned the summary, paving the way for the new members to be sworn in today at the governor’s house.
The decision came almost seven months after Afridi assumed office. Following the resignation of former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in October last year, Afridi was elected as the new Leader of the House.
He initially formed a meager 14-member cabinet after he failed to secure a meeting with the party’s founding chairman for wider consultations. He had planned to expand the cabinet later after consultation, but the meeting could not materialize.
Party leadership and pressure from members of the provincial assembly eventually forced the chief minister to go for the expansion.
Differences within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged soon after the expansion, with several party leaders and lawmakers expressing strong displeasure at being overlooked.
Sources said the decision was taken after consultations with the party’s founder, although the meeting with the chairman did not materialize before the announcement.
The announcement sparked an immediate backlash from party members who felt left out. Notably, the cabinet largely avoided including non-elected personalities, with only Muzzammil Aslam reportedly doing so as an exception.
The cabinet expansion has highlighted growing regional and factional fissures within the PTI in KP.
