Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The cagey silence of Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Asfand Yar Wali Khan, chief of Awami National Party (ANP), who tasted defeat in the general election in their home constituencies, predicts that the duo is likely to be got elected from Bannu and Mardan respectively in the by-election to minimize the scale of their grievances, ground realities and a senior nationalist leader predicted.

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has won five National Assembly seats in the July 25 general election from NA-95 Mianwali, NA-53 Islamabad, NA-243 Karachi, NA-35 Bannu and NA-131 Lahore. Khan has hinted at retaining his Mianwali seat and vacating the rest.

Ismail Khan, a longtime nationalist leader, said vacating of NA-35 Bannu seat by Khan which he won against Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) contender Akram Khan Durrani, is a tacitoffer to JUI-F chief to get himself elected from there.”By vacating NA-35 Bannu seat, PTI chairman is apparently offering a chance to JUI-F chief to make his way into the parliament,” he noted.

Similarly, ANP leader and former chief minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti wontwo seats: NA-21 Mardan-II and PK-53 Mardan-VI. Hoti is most likely to retain his PK seat and vacate his NA seat to offer a chance to ANP chief Asfand Yar Wali Khan to win the seat in by-election.

After Khan and Hoti vacate these seats, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will announce schedule for by-elections.

“I think there is some sort of understanding to make both JUI-F and ANP chiefs win by-election because both the defeated leaders have aired serious reservations over the ballot process and alleged massive rigging,” the nationalist leader noted.

The July 25 election was held relatively in a peaceful way with the exception of a tragic blast in Quetta, which left 30 persons dead and dozens other wounded.

However, the country’s 11th general election yielded totally different results in which many weathered Pashtun religious and nationalist leaders witnessed their defeat from their home constituencies.

Leading Pashtun religious and nationalist leaders who saw their downfall in the ballot include Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Jamat-e-Islami chief Siraj-ul-Haq, Awami National Party chief Asfand Yar Wali Khan and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazl-u-Rehman, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Sherpao and former KP chief minister Akram Khan Durrani.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan were among the bigwigs who lost election in Punjab.

Published in Daily Times, August 6^th 2018.