JHANG, Oct 3: Political activity in the National Assembly constituency NA-89 finally seems to be gaining momentum after the Supreme Court order, allowing Maulana Azam Tariq, the president of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), and Sheikh Waqas Akram of the Millat Party, to contest election.

With the clouds of uncertainty hovering over these two main contenders having evaporated, a four pronged electoral battle is in the offing in this one of the most sensitive constituencies of the country. The other two candidates in the fray are Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri and Syed Asad Hayat of the PPP.

Apart from its history of sectarian strife spread over last 12 years, the constituency has assumed added significance as two top religious leaders of the country, Maulanas Qadri and Tariq, are pitted against each other. The newly created constituency is a reduced version of former NA-68 which comprised Jhang municipality and rural areas falling in the jurisdiction of Sadar police station, adjacent to the urban areas. The urban Jhang has been a stronghold of the SSP, while the forces opposed to it thrived in the rural areas. The SSP opponents comprise the Shia community, people belonging to Barelavi sect, the Sheikh clan, due to the murder of its leader, former MPA and municipality chairman Sheikh Iqbal, the PPP and the landlords.

After fresh delimitations, the SSP-dominated urban areas of Jhang municipality were kept intact, while the rural areas were distributed among three constituencies, including the NA-89, giving a clear edge to the SSP over its opponents. Keeping in view the results of last four elections — 1990, 1990 (by-election), 1993 and 1997 — it can be predicted that the SSP could be defeated in its headquarters if its opponents field a consensus candidate.

In 1990 elections, though Maulana Israrul Qasmi won the election in a one on one fight but that was against a week candidate. There was a split of votes in the by-election which were held after the murder of Maulana Qasmi and Maulana Tariq won it by a thumping majority. In 1993, Sheikh Iqbal was brought forward by the anti-SSP elements against the Maulana. Sheikh Iqbal was all set to win the election when, all of sudden, Nawab Amanullah Sial jumped into the arena to create a split in the anti-SSP vote bank and clear the way for Maulana Azam Tariq. It was an entirely different story in the 1997 election when Amanullah Sial contested election on the PML-N ticket and defeated Maulana Azam Tariq. Now all major parties have come up with their own candidates to complicate things for themselves. The Barelavis, who are almost equal in number with Deobandis in the constituency, are supporting Dr Qadri. The large Sheikh clan have fielded Sheikh Waqas Akram, the nephew of the slain ex-MPA Sheikh Iqbal, and son of Jhang tehsil Nazim Sheikh Akram.

Sheikh Waqas is likely to get a few Barelavi votes and, in return, Dr Qadri will get some Sheikh clan vote. Similarly, Maulana Tariq will also get some Sheikh votes through the efforts of Sheikh Hakim Ali family. Syed Asad Hayat is a representative of the Shia community and a PPP candidate.

Earlier the parties were locked in a legal battle between them as the nomination papers of Sheikh Waqas Akram were rejected by the returning officer and the candidature of Maulana Azam Tariq was also in doubt as the state had filed an appeal in the High Court against the acceptance of his papers. The appeal filed by Sheikh Waqas Akram in the election tribunal was rejected and it appeared though he was out of the contest.

In another interesting development, PML-QA candidate for National Assembly Commander Sohaib Farooq (retired) is running the election campaign of Maulana Tariq. While Khalid Sargana, the PML-QA provincial assembly candidate, in a brave move, abandoned the king’s party and chose to contest election as a candidate of Maulana Tariq.