Ali Amin Gandapur

Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as the 18th Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in office since 2 March 2024. He served as the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan from 5 October 2018 to 10 April 2022. He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January 2023.

Previously, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2013 to 2018 and served as Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Revenue for the same period of time. He contested his first election in 2013, winning in PK-94 Dera Ismail Khan, he would win again later on in 2018. He contested 2 seats, PK-97 Dera Ismail Khan City 1, and NA-38, winning both seats. In 2024, he was elected again to a seat in the Provincial Assembly, winning in PK-113 Dera Ismail Khan.

Early life and education
Ali belongs to a politically active Gandapur tribe of Pashtuns from Kulachi, Dera Ismail Khan. His father Aminullah Gandapur served as a caretaker cabinet member under Pervez Musharraf.

He completed his early education at Saint Helen's High School, Dera Ismail Khan. Due to his keen interest in sports as a squash player, he shifted to Peshawar and matriculated from the Police Model School. He later received his BA from Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan.

Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from the PK-64 (Dera Ismail Khan-I) in 2013 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election. He received 14,047 votes and defeated an independent candidate, Qayyum Nawaz.

Provincial Minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Following his successful election, he was inducted into the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and was made Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Revenue and Estate.

National Assembly
He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of PTI from Constituency NA-38 (Dera Ismail Khan-I) in 2018 Pakistani general election.

Federal Minister
On 5 October 2018, he was inducted into the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan and was appointed Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
He was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a second time in the 2024 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, running on an independent ticket affiliated with the PTI. Following his successful election as a Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA), he was voted in as Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by a majority of 90 votes with the runner-up, Ibadullah Khan, receiving 16. Following his oath-taking, he pledged to tackle crime, especially drug trafficking, initiate political reforms, and tackle corruption.

As Chief Minister, Gandapur has expressed his determination to restart the process of development in the province. He has prioritized the restoration of Sehat Insaf Card for the welfare of the people. He has also emphasized the importance of law and order and said that the establishment of lasting peace is the first priority. Gandapur has expressed its determination to make the province attractive to foreign investors. He has also promised to talk to the federal government to protect the rights of the province.

Accusations of having paraded a girl naked
He was accused of being involved in a case where a girl was allegedly stripped and publicly humiliated in his village in 2017. Gandapur visited the girl and maintained that he had not supported the accused and offered to take financial responsibility of the girl.

Accusations of sexism
At several occasions, Gandapur made provocative and sexist remarks about Maryam Nawaz with aggressive language. In 2020, he remarked, "She is beautiful but she spent millions on her surgeries from the taxpayers’ money". In 2021, He referred to Maryam as a daku rani (queen of thieves) and alleged that she underwent a cosmetic surgery worth Rs80 million. He stated, "I have more to reveal, but I'll only say this to her: if we resort to slapping, she will be slapped so hard that her true face, covered by the Rs80 million surgery funded by taxpayers, will be revealed."

In March 2024, during a session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly, Sobia Shahid, faced sexual harassment and lewd gestures from male PTI members when she displayed wristwatches, symbolizing allegations against PTI leader Imran Khan for purchasing wristwatches from the state treasury at a discounted price and selling them at a higher price to make a profit. Gandapur, recently elected as the leader of the house, addressed the incident by saying "she asked for it," suggesting that Sobia Shahid should have expected such behavior beforehand when she waved the wristwatches.

Firearms and liquor
Gandapur was charged by Islamabad Police on 31 October 2016, for allegedly carrying and exhibiting unlicensed firearms and liquor. These items were reportedly found in Gandapur's vehicle outside PTI Chairman Imran Khan's residence when he arrived for the party's scheduled capital lockdown.

May 9 riots
In February 2024, Gandapur was declared a proclaimed offender for his alleged participation in the 2023 May 9 riots. Later, in March, an Anti-Terrorism Court issued a non-bailable warrant for his arrest.