Former senator Taj Afridi killed in road crash on M-1 Motorway

ISLAMABAD: Former senator Taj Muhammad Afridi was killed in a road accident on the M-1 Motorway on Friday after his vehicle suffered a mechanical failure, motorway police and local officials said.

The accident occurred near the Colonel Sher Khan Interchange as the former lawmaker was travelling from Islamabad to Peshawar.

According to preliminary reports from the Motorway Police, who rushed to the scene immediately after the crash, the Jeep-style vehicle experienced a sudden mechanical fault that caused the driver to lose control.

Afridi sustained fatal injuries and passed away on the spot, while his driver survived the crash with minor injuries.

An investigation into the exact nature of the mechanical failure is currently under way, Motorway Police said.

Afridi served as a member of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2015 to March 2021.

He also served as caretaker provincial minister for relief, rehabilitation and resettlement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from January to August 2023.

Afridi was elected to the Senate in 2015 on a general seat from the then Federally Administered Tribal Areas as an independent candidate.

He later contested the 2021 Senate election from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on a Balochistan Awami Party ticket but was unsuccessful.

He also remained affiliated with several political parties over the years and most recently contested a Senate by-election in October 2025 as an independent candidate, which he lost.