ATTOCK, Feb 7: The  former district nazim and PML-Q  affiliated leader  Major (retired) Tahir Sadiq Khan, also  brother-in-law of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, has surprisingly decided  to contest all  three National Assembly and five provincial  seats, in the forthcoming general elections  2013,  under the banner of an independent group.

According to local sources, the group being called the “major group” is against the political alliance of PPP and PML-Q and would field candidates in all eight seats of the district

The major group believes that the voters would not  support the PML-Q because of Lal Masjid issue nor the PPP due to the current political situation, so  contesting independently appears as a wise choice, said sources.

The majority of PML-Q activists would support Mr Tahir in the upcoming elections as he had influence and had served as district nazim, added sources.

Interestingly,  Mr Tahir, who is  also a close relative of  PML-Q central leader and  deputy Prime minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi of PML-Q (also MNA from NA-58 Attock-II) , was not willing to support PPP-PML-Q alliance, which according to him would cause a setback to his newly found group.

Moreover, Mr Tahir has already launched a comprehensive pre-election campaign to muster maximum support for his group’s candidates.

On the whole, members of the major group seem optimistic and were confident that they would win the majority of seats in the district, in the upcoming elections.

“Major group has decided to contest the 2013’s  election, in an independent capacity, instead of joining hands with the PML-Q and PPP, as it will be good for the group’s survival,” former district nazim Mr Tahir said while talking to Dawn.

“We will field candidates on all eight seats of the district and will give a tough time to opponents,” he claimed.

When asked, Mr Tahir informed that he would himself contest on two NA seats, NA- 57 Attock-I and NA-58 Attock-II, respectively. While former tehsil nazim Hazro Tehsil Raza Khan and Malik Amanut have been declared aspirants of  PP- 16 Attock-II  and PP-18 Attock-IV seats, while names for  three other provincial  seats of PP-15 Attock-1, PP-17 Attock-III, PP-19 Attock-V were under consideration and would be announced soon, he said.

When asked that contesting of election in an independent capacity would be difficult for major group, without any political alliance, Mr Tahir claimed proudly that his group was politically strong and was a favourite among the masses.