JUI-F’s Akram Durrani expected to be next K-P opposition leader

Akram Khan Durrani of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) could once again be the leader of the opposition in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. He has already served as opposition leader for two terms--from 2008 to 2013 and 2018 to 2023.

If elected leader of the opposition, he would serve in the position for a third time. The JUI-F has the largest number of Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) among all opposition parties. Durrani also has the seniority for the post.

The JUI-F has seven MPAs in the K-P Assembly.

Durrani had contested provincial as well as National Assembly seats in the February 8 elections and had won provincial assembly seats from his home district of Bannu.

It may be recalled that Akram Khan Durrani had also served as K-P chief minister from 2002 to 2008 during the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government, a stint during which he had kept the ruling alliance alive against heavy odds. His last two years in power had been especially difficult with the province experiencing a rise in militancy in both rural and urban areas for the first time, a trend that had worsened despite all his efforts.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th 2024.