MUZAFFARGARH: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leadership awarded ticket for the by-election to be held in PP-272 to Syeda Zehra Abdullah Bukhari while her son Syed Haroon Sultan Bukhari will contest as an independent candidate against her.

The seat was vacated by Syed Basit Sultan Bukhari, who also won as an independent candidate from NA-185 and opted for the National Assembly seat, joining the PTI.

Later, the PTI asked Mr Basit to nominate party candidate for the PP-272 by-poll and he requested his mother Syeda Zehra Abdullah Bukhari, wife of former MPA Syed Abdullah Shah Bukhari, to contest from the constituency her first election.

On the other hand, former provincial minister Haroon Sultan Bukhari, who had contested election on a PML-N ticket, later left the party and opted to enter the arena as an independent candidate against his mother.

Another candidate, Sardar Moazzam Khan Jatoi, withdrew his candidature in favour of Haroon Bukhari.

According to experts on local electoral politics, the by-poll would be an interesting contest between the mother and the son from the Bukhari family.

Both Basit and Haroon Bukhari are trying to convince other candidates to withdraw their candidatures to bag maximum votes.

The PPP has fielded Shahzad Furqan as its candidate for the PP-272 by-poll.

Former MPA Malik Qaswar Kareem Langrial talking to Dawn said everybody knew that in any by-election mostly the candidate of the ruling party emerged victorious.

Mr Haroon Bukhari predicted that the seat would be won by a member of Bukhari family, adding he had yet to decide which party he would join if he won the by-poll.

Both Haroon Bukhari and his sister-in-law Syeda Zehra Basit Bukhari had contested the last general election from NA-184 but they were defeated by Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmad Khan.

When Syed Abdullah Shah was alive, the Bukhari family was united and its members would contest polls from the same party.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2018