PTI K-P president’s brother joins PML-N

Former MNA coaxed into joining party by federal minister

MANSEHRA: Former Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl MNA Laiq Muhammad Khan announced on Wednesday he would be joining Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Laiq is the younger brother of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf K-P President, Senator Azam Khan Swati.

Laiq Khan was elected to the National Assembly on a JUI-F’s ticket from NA-21, Mansehra-II after the demise of his elder brother in 2010. He lost to Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, the son-in-law of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in the 2013 elections. He remained inactive in the field of politics until the local government elections.



His son Ahmed Shehryar Khan, who also joined PML-N on the same day, was elected a Mansehra district councillor from Kathai on PTI’s ticket. The father and son actively lobbied for the top slot in the district, but switched sides after PTI decided to nominate its district president Shafat Ali Khan as candidate for nazim.

Reacting to the party’s decision, Shehryar, alongwith five other PTI district councillors, voted for PML-N’s nominee Sardar Said Ghulam.

The PTI’s leadership was annoyed over the decision and served him a show-cause notice. However, the matter was seemingly settled when the councillor was allowed to clarify his position before the core committee of the party.

Ultimately, PTI’s K-P chapter filed references with the Election Commission of Pakistan under defection clause 78-A of the Local Government Act 2013. It sought the disqualification and unseating of Shehryar Khan and five other alleged defectors who helped PML-N’s nominee turn the tables on PTI despite the latter having a clear majority.



Instead, Shehryar Khan tendered his resignation from office, while one of the defectors rejoined PTI. The other four submitted an apology, but their cases were referred to the Peshawar High Court which suspended the EC’s decision of unseating them. Later, while locking horns with PTI’s central leadership, Laiq Khan and his son publicly admitted to deserting PTI’s candidate.

In the backdrop of this manoeuvring, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and his camp remained in touch with Laiq Khan and convinced both him and his son to join PML-N.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th,  2015.