Daily Times

SWAT

The electoral race in Swat district has gained prominence because of the PML-N’s decision to field its president Shehbaz Sharif from NA 3 (Old NA29) against former MNA from the area, PTI’s Saleem Rehman.

Other candidates in the constituency are ANP’s Abdul Karim, and PPP’s Shahryar Amirzeb, and Maulana Hujjatullah

Hujjatullah was earlier a candidate of the MMA but he is now contesting as an independent after rifts emerged over JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s decision to support Sharif for the seat. Hujjatullah refused to withdraw his candidacy, leading to the cancellation of his party membership.

Background discussions and extensive interviews conducted by Daily Times suggest that many of the JUI-F ideological workers are still supporting Hujjatullah, and in fact, Jamaat Islami leaders are also encouraging their supporters during corner meetings to vote for him.

The latest round of delimitations done after the 2017 census has resulted in the addition of an NA and a provincial seat in Swat. The district will now send three representatives to the NA and eight to the Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa assembly.

In 2013, PTI secured both NA seats and five out of the seven PK seats here.

Its young contestant Murad Saeed secured the other NA seat with 88,291 votes, against PML-N candidate Ali Shah Bacha’s 24,083 votes.

However, over the last five years, PML-N’s Amir Muqam used his influence in Islamabad to secure various mega-projects for Swat, while Saeed remained away from the constituency, according to the locals. The projects completed by the PML-N included the province’s first hospital specialising in kidney diseases [established in Sangota area] in 2015. The poor quality of drinking water has led to a sharp rise in the number of kidney patients in the region over the years. On a daily basis, the hospital caters to 100-150 patients. Other major projects undertaken by the PML-N government here are a new gas pipeline connecting settlements in Swat to the Malakand pumping station; and highways connecting Khwaza Khela to Kalam.

Though many in the younger generation of Swat are excited about the PML-N president’s decision to contest from here, several remain reluctant to support him citing concerns that he will ultimately prefer keeping a seat in Lahore.

Speaking to Daily Times ahead of the July 14 visit of Shehbaz Sharif (it was cancelled due to weather conditions), Saleem, a local who studies at Punjab University, says he has volunteered for the PML-N campaign because Sharif is a leader of national stature who has done a lot of work in Lahore. “Whenever I come to Swat from Lahore, I feel a lot of differences in hospitals, schools, colleges, and roads of Swat and Lahore so I have decided to vote for Shehbaz Sharif.”

Fahad, who runs an internet cafe in Mingora main bazaar, says he supports Sharif for what he has done in Lahore, but asks, ‘who will give guarantee that after winning from here as well as other seats, he will keep this seat and vacate others? So why should I vote for him?’

Fayyaz Zaffar, a journalist who covers Swat for international media, says that the electoral history of the district suggests that it has never elected an outsider into office. “I hope Shahbaz Sharif puts up a good fight but I’m not too sure about his chances of success.”

PML-N posters in the area show photos of Shehbaz Sharif and Amir Muqam with ‘Our chief minister and prime minister’ written on them in Pashto.

Analysts believe that Amir Muqam is hoping to woo voters by presenting himself as the chief minister of the province. Since in the past, the home district of the CMs saw unprecedented development during their terms, though Muqam isn’t a local but he is banking on the works he has completed.

During the five years of the PTI government, Swat witnessed a major change in the social sector. Fazal Rahim Khan a local journalist, says that the biometric attendance system has improved attendance of staff at hospitals and educational institutes.

However, the tourism industry suffered as the poor quality of roads kept tourists away from the scenic Valley.

Shahzad Alam, who has covered the sector for the media, says the sector was ruined in the last five years due to the poor quality of roads. “Malam Jaba was once a huge tourist attraction, bringing thousands of visitors to the Valley every year, but the 45 kilometre road to Malam Jaba is in a poor state,” he says, adding that the 36 km road connecting Bahrain to Kalam is damaged all along and it takes tourists upto five hours to cover the distance.

Sajjid Khan, who is linked to the hoteling industry in Bahrain, says the last three years were worst for the tourism sector throughout his career.

On the 350 small dams the PTI government claims to have built, he says just three are under construction in the area with donor funds arranged by the Sarhad Rural Support Programme.

While the PML-N is pinning its hopes for the July 25 contest on its mega projects, PTI is expecting to attract a major chunk of the 80,000 new voters who have entered the electoral rolls in the last five years.

Analyst Shahzad Alam believes that two factors will be critical for PML-N’s chances in NA-3. Firstly, if Fazalur Rehman manages to convince Maulana Hujjatullah to withdraw in favour of Sharif. Second, if Sharif or other major leaders of the party manage to make a trip to the area before the campaign ends.

Regarding PTI, Fayyaz Zaffar says the people of Swat people are now well aware of the false claims of the party. He says PTI MPA Fazal Hakeem’s assets multiplied about seven to eight times between 2013 and 2018.

His documents submitted in 2013 show that his assets were valued at PKR650 million, and this year he has claimed assets worth PKR4.5 billion. “How did he manage to accumulate so much wealth in the last five years?” he asks. That said, Zaffar adds that the party still retains its voter bank in Swat and cannot be written out of the July 25 contest.

Published in Daily Times, July 20^th 2018.