By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
KHYBER: Muhammad Sohail Afridi, a young middle-class newly elected member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly and president of Insaf Youth Wing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, won as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed candidate from district Khyber PK-70 with a huge margin from Pakistan Muslim League candidate and former member of the parliament in 2024 general elections.
Sohail secured a total of 31,669 votes in the 2024 general elections held this month, while his opponent and former MPA Bilawal Afridi (PLMn)received only 7,549 votes.
PTI swept the elections clean in district Khyber, securing a national assembly and three provincial assembly seats.
Notably, Muhammad Iqbal Khan Afridi won the NA-27 National Assembly seat, while Allam Muhammad Adnan Qadri-PK-69 Muhammad Sohail Afridi and Abdul Ghani Afridi-PK-71 triumphed in their respective provincial assembly seats from District Khyber.
Sohail Afridi’s political journey began in November 2007 when he became the founding member of the Insaf Students Federation (ISF). Over the years Sohail ascended and remained as president of ISF district Peshawar in 2011 and provincial president of ISF in 2014.
Sohail Afridi assumed leadership roles in the Insaf Youth Wing, eventually becoming its provincial president for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2022. Additionally, he was a member of the PTI’s Central Executive Committee.
Dedicated to promoting the ideology of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Imran Khan, Sohail Afridi actively participated in meetings, seminars and other party events including demonstrations against Raymond Davis in 2011, the Waziristan March against drone strikes in 2012 and the blockade of Nato supply line in Peshawar in 2013. He had also advocated for student rights and notably protested against compromises made by Pervez Khattak when he was chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sohail Khan Afridi had done degree in economics from Peshawar University and pursued an MPhil but due to party engagements, he could not complete it after his successful completion of coursework in 2014.
Sohail Afridi, hailing from a middle-class family from Bara tehsil of tribal district Khyber, faced formidable opponents within the party. However, his political experience, unwavering commitment to ideology and strong public relations earned him the party ticket, leading to his decisive victory over the established candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. Sohail Afridi defeated the big capitalists and former provincial assembly candidate in district Khyber by a huge margin and proved that victory always belongs to the ideology no matter how big the people stand in front.
Sohail Afridi attributed his success to the grace of Almighty Allah, supporters, party leadership and the ideology of Imran Khan and PTI and said that due to this he made his debut successful in the Khyber district and proved that the Khyber district belongs to the captain.
Sohail said he was grateful to the brave and loyal tribal people who gave him immense respect and defeated the big capitalist and landlord with all the resources he used in the election.
The Newly Elected MPA said he had promised that I would serve the people of his constituency and would not let them down. Adding that he would work day and night to solve the problems of his voters and supporters.
He also pleaded with the people of the PK-70 constituency that he would not leave any stone unturned to resolve their genuine problems and bring back long-lasting development projects to change the lives of militant people.
