MANSEHRA: Former JUI-F MNA and PTI Senator Azam Khan Swati’s younger brother Laiq Khan on Monday joined the Awami National Party deepening split in the party in upper parts of Hazara division.

Claiming Laiq Khan has joined the party to claim ticket for contesting the next PK-58, Torghar, elections, the ANP dissidents warned that they along with local residents won’t allow any ‘outsider’ to use the party’s platform to reach the assembly.

Mr Laiq, who belongs to Oghi tehsil of Mansehra district, announced the joining of the ANP after party’s district president in Karachi (North) Miad Khan, Torghar district president Zargul Hassanzai, Mansehra district president Sarwar Khan and local government representatives from upper parts of Hazara formally invited him to join the party in a jirga in Oghi.

Mr Laiq announced the joining of the ANP on the condition that the party would give him the 2018 election ticket for PK-58 Torghar.

Dissidents warn won’t allow party ticket for ‘outsider’

However, the ANP dissident group led by former minister Nimroz Khan opposed the condition saying it won’t allow the leadership to field any ‘outsider’ for the PK-58 elections after ignoring the local office-bearers and party workers in Torghar. The group met in Oghi on Monday.

Without naming Mr Laiq, who belongs to Oghi tehsil, Mr Nimroz said, “We welcome people to our party but won’t allow any outsider to contest election from our region.”

He also said his group didn’t accept the decisions of the party’s district body in Torghar.

Also in the day, prime minister’s son-in-law Mohammad Safdar, who is an MNA from a combined constituency of Mansehra and Torghar districts, NA-21, said the people of Torghar would never vote for an outsider in the elections.

In a veiled reference to former lawmaker Laiq Khan, the MNA alleged that the outsider had plundered over Rs210 million development funds.

He told party workers that the outsider, who had dreamed of being elected from PK-58, would face defeat.

CANDIDATES NAMED: The Jamaat-i-Islami on Monday named its 2018 election candidates for one National Assembly and three provincial assembly seats in Mansehra district. JI district emir Sajjad Hussain Shah told reporters here that Qari Mohammad Ashraf would contest elections from the NA-21 constituency, which comprised upper parts of Mansehra and entire Torghar district.

He said former party district emir Dr Tariq Sherazi would contest election from PK-53, Oghi tehsil naib emir Qazi Zahidullah from PK-56 and Dr Mohammad Siddique from PK-57.

Mr Shah said he was hopeful that the party would sweep the next elections in the district as it had installed the tehsil government in Oghi, while party activists were elected to district, tehsil and village and neighbourhood councils in large numbers in the 2015 local government elections.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2017