Senior ANP leader Zahid Khan quits politics citing concerns over party direction

Senior Awami National Party (ANP) leader Zahid Khan has announced his retirement from politics, citing a shift in party priorities and growing financial involvement in the political sphere.

Zahid Khan, the former Secretary Information of ANP and a former senator, stated that the current political climate forced him to step away.

"Money has become involved in politics. We never did politics for money. With the new leadership's priorities, we are no longer relevant, so I quietly stepped aside," he said in his statement.

His announcement follows the decision of another senior ANP leader, Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, who also retired from electoral politics recently.

Zahid Khan, was born in the small village of Odigram in Lower Dir District. He went on to serve as a senator twice, first in 1997 and then again in 2009, representing the ANP in Pakistan’s upper house until 2015.

During his time in the Senate, Zahid Khan chaired the Senate Committee on Water and Power and was a member of several key committees, including Communications, Information Technology & Telecommunication, and Parliamentary Affairs.