PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday met senior PML-N leaders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to seek support for the ruling party’s candidate in the upcoming NA-18 Haripur by-election.

He met with parliamentarians and political figures from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to discuss the overall political situation in the country, according to an official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

It added that matters related to progress on development projects in the province also came under discussion.

The participants included federal ministers Amir Muqam, Sardar Mohammad Yousaf, Ataullah Tarar and Rana Mubashir Iqbal and adviser to the prime minister Rana Sanaullah and former parliamentarians from KP Pir Sabir Shah, retired Capt Safdar, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Ikhtiar Wali Khan and Sardar Mushtaq.

A source told Dawn that the prime minister had called senior PML-N leaders to shore up support for the party’s candidate, Babar Nawaz Khan, in the Nov 23 by-election of NA-18, a seat that fell vacant following the disqualification of former federal minister and former secretary general of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Omar Ayub Khan.

Mr Ayub’s wife Shehrnaz Omar Ayub is contesting the election on behalf of her husband who has remained underground, except court appearances in Peshawar, since his disqualification in August due to conviction in cases related to the May 9 violent protests.

The by-election in the constituency is scheduled to take place on Nov 23.

NA-18 is Ayub family’s traditional seat but Mr Babar won it in the 2018 elections.

The source claimed former parliamentarians Pir Sabir Shah and Sardar Mushtaq, both from Haripur, had reservations about the nomination of Babar Nawaz Khan, so the need to call all concerned to address their grievances and get their support for the candidate was felt.

He added that the prime minister insisted that the PMl-N should present a united front in the by-election by supporting Mr Babar.

The source claimed that Pir Sabir Shah and others were asked to pledge their support for Mr Babar.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2025