February 20, 2008	Wednesday	Safar 12, 1429

LAYYAH, Feb 19: It was a Black Monday for PML-Q candidates in the district, which had turned out to be a bastion of the party after the 2002 general and 2005 local body polls. The party lost six seats, of a total of seven seats, that include two National Assembly and five Provincial Assembly seats. PML-N and PPP grabbed six seats altogether.

The election also routed the ‘invincible’ Thind-Jhakhar alliance.

Traditional adversaries buried the hatchet on the persuasion of Pervaiz Elahi in 2007. The Thinds are led by District Nazim Ghulam Haider Thind, while former MNA Niaz Jhakhar leads Jhakhars.

PML-N and PPP candidates defeated Thind’s daughter, his son-in-law and Niaz Jhakhar. Mr Jhakhar’s family has been in political business since 1946.

Unofficial results state PML-N man for NA-182 Saqlain Bukhari and PP-262 candidate Ahmed Ali Aulakh, PP-264 candidate Qaisar Abbas Magasi and PP-265 man Ejaz Ahmed defeated their rivals. PPP candidates for PP-263 and PP-266 — Safdar Abbas Bhatti and Iftikhar Babar Khitran – crushed their PML-Q rivals.

PML-Q candidate for NA-181 Sardar Bahadur Khan Sehar brought the only consolation for the party by winning his seat. However, PML-N’s Saqlain Shah Bukhari defeated PML-Q’s Niaz Jhakhar in NA-182.