Daily Times

SAHIWALSahiwal is known for its Rajput, Arain, Jutt, Syed, and Ansari clans, alongside Langriyal, Khagga, Fatyana, Kathiya, Murdanay and Bharwana tribes.

In the latest delimitations, it has lost a national assembly seat, and will send three instead of four representatives to the Parliament on July 25. The three NA constituencies here are NA 147,148 and 149. There are seven provincial assembly seats (PP-196 to PP-202) falling under the three NA seats of the district.

NA-147 comprises the Chicha Watni tehsil. Though some villages of Chicha Watni are included in NA-148 and NA-149 as well, but the bulk of the areas in these seats are those of the Sahiwal tehsil.

In the previous election, the PML-N won three of the four seats in Sahiwal district. Rai Hassan Nawaz won the fourth seat for PTI, however, he was disqualified for defaulting on a bank loan. In the bypoll, the seat was secured by the influential Jutts of Chicha Watni who contested on the PML-N ticket.

The Jutts have been a potent electoral force in the district with three heavyweights coming from the clan and winning elections on PML-N tickets: Tufail Jutt in NA-162 (ex-tehsil nazim of Chicha Watni), Arshad Jutt in PP-225 and Hanif Jutt in PP-226.

Analysts suggest that the situation in the district ahead of the 2018 election is not as conducive for the N-League as it used to be in the past. They refer to the Panama Papers verdict and the social media campaign of N-League’s opponents in the wake of the verdict to justify their assessment.

In NA-147, PML-N’s Pir Imran Shah will face PTI’s Chaudhry Nauraiz Shakoor. In 2013, Shah had defeated Shakoor’s son Ali Nauraiz Shakoor, who also contested on a PTI ticket. Rana Amir Shahzad of the PPP secured 20,000 votes from the area but he is contesting the election on the PP seat this time. Far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has also fielded a strong candidate from the Kamyana family in NA-147, Khalid Siddique Kamyana. Contrary to the popular perception, the TLP candidate here is neither a barelvi cleric nor comes from middle-class professions identified with conservative religious outlook, he is the brother of a high-ranking police officer, Bilal Kamyana, and son of a prominent Supreme Court lawyer, Sadiq Kamyana.

In NA-148, PML-N’s Chaudhry Ashraf is contesting against PTI’s Muhammad Yar Dhakoo, whom he defeated in 2013 with a margin of 50,000 votes. PPP has given its ticket to Ghulam Farid Kathiya who has a stronghold over villages along the River Ravi bank.

At NA-149, the PTI is in a poor position. Both Rai and Langrial families were hoping for a ticket from the PTI, however, the ticket went to Rai Hassan Murtaza who lost to Tufail Jutt of PML-N in the by-poll held here during the previous term.

PML-N has posed its trust in the Jutt panel that secured it victory on NA and PP seats, and has given tickets to the past winners again. PML-N could not award a ticket to Mian Muneer Azhar who won from old NA-163 in 2013, due to new delimitations. However, the party compensated him by awarding a ticket for a provincial assembly seat in the district to his son.

The latest verdict in the Avenfield reference has given encouragement to many groups and local political and religious parties who were earlier not openly endorsing candidates. Hardliner Sunni Tehreek has announced support for the PTI candidates in all constituencies of the district, instead of supporting the TLP. ST district president Muhammad Ijaz Qadri, while talking to Daily Times, said that his party would vote for PTI as the PML-N was responsible for the death sentence of Mumtaz Qadri. When asked why was he not supporting TLP, he said, “we doubt their sincerity to the cause. PTI seems more sincere to bring about an Islamic revival in the country.”

Published in Daily Times, July 13^th 2018.