 He ran for the seat of Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Mardan constituency in 2002 Pakistani general election, but was unsuccessful.He was elected for the first time to the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from PK-23 Mardan constituency in 2008 Pakistani general election.Following the election, he was elected as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March 2008 where he remained until March 2013.