MUZAFFARGARH: This is usual electoral spectacle here in NA-180 in Kot Addu where two brothers find themselves pitted against each other representing different major political parties.

Raza Rabbani Khar, the PPP candidate and son of the late former MNA Malik Noor Rabbani Khar, faces off against his brother, Khaliq Khar, the ticket holder of the PML-N. Adding to the complexity, their uncle, former governor Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar also entered the electoral fray in the same constituency, leaving voters with a lot of choice.

The Khar family’s political dynamics extended to the next generation, as ex-foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, the sister of Malik Ghulam Raza Rabbani Khar, acknowledged the familial respect for their uncle, Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar.

She urged him to take a back seat, considering he had previously contested against her and their father without success.

Raza Khar has already initiated his campaign, positioning himself as a formidable contender, whereas his opponents, PTI-backed Mian Fayyaz Chajra, PML-N’s Khaliq Khar and Mustafa Khar have yet to enter the competition.

This constituency has been held by the Rabbani Khar house since 1990, and losing it only in 1993 to PPP’s Mustafa Khar. For the first time, Rabbani Khar won it in a by-election in 1990, and later on in 1997 and 2013. In 2002, he was left out of the electoral arena because of the graduation bar, and Hina Rabbani emerged on the political scene, proving her to be a mainstream leader of Pakistan. She was elected as PML-Q MNA in 2002, and a PPP MNA in 2008. In 2013, Rabbani Khar returned to the ground and won the seat in a by-election in 2013. In 2018, Raza Khar made his debut and won the seat.

On the other hand, Khaliq Khar, who is half brother of Raza Khar, contested election for the first in 2008 on a PML-N ticket for a provincial assembly but failed to make a visible presence. This time, he may make a difference, since the PML-N has fielded its candidates for the provincial assembly constituencies under NA-180, whereas Raza Khar lacks this dynamics.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2024