New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday admitted that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) made 'mistakes' in the first phase of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwas (K-P) local government elections, The Express Tribune reported.

Taking to Twitter, Khan said: "PTI made mistakes in 1st phase of KP LG elections & paid the price. Wrong candidate selection was a major cause. From now on I will personally be overseeing PTI's LG election strategy in 2nd phase of KP LG elections & LG elections across Pak. InshaAllah PTI will come out stronger."

The Prime Minister's tweet came after the ruling PTI on Monday dealt a major blow after Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) cruised to victory with its candidate grabbing the pivotal post of the Peshawar Mayor in the local government elections held in K-P since the merger of the tribal districts, according to unofficial and unverified results.

The ruling party faced startling setbacks in most areas with the candidates of the opposition parties managing to defeat its nominees.

The PTI lost the Peshawar Mayor seat to the JUI-F with a wide margin.

According to the unofficial results, JUI-F's Zubair Ali won with a margin of around 11,500 votes after securing 62,388, whereas PTI's Rizwan Bangash received 50,669 votes and PPP's Zarak Arbab got 45,000 votes.