End of the road for Metab Khan in Abbottabad?

Former K-P governor, son withdraw respective nominations for Abbottabad seats

ABBOTTABAD: A total of 31 candidates remain in the running for the two national assembly seats in Abbottabad (NA-15, NA-16) after seven candidates, including Sardar Mehtab Khan, withdrew their candidature from the constituency on Friday, the last day to do so.

After the withdrawal of the papers, the main electoral battle in the district appears to be between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as was in the 2013 general elections when one seat of Abbottabad was won the by PTI while the other was won by the PML-N.



Amongst the notables who withdrew their candidature from the two national assembly seats in the district were Sardar Sheryar Khan, the eldest son of former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) governor Sardar Mehtab Khan who had filed his papers from NA-16.

From NA-15, Sardar Mehtab withdrew his papers despite the fact he was considered to be one of the main contenders for the seat. He used to contest from Abbottabad city in the past, which used to fall in the erstwhile NA-17. Mehtab claimed that since eight major union councils of his constituency now fall in NA-15, he had opted to contest from that constituency. He was hopeful of securing a party ticket too.

However, the PML-N instead awarded the ticket for the constituency to former NA speaker Sardar Murtaza Javed Abbasi who staked a claim to the area since his father used to contest and win elections from it in the past.

Sardar Mehtab, though, now looks to be without a seat for the upcoming general elections — for the first time since 1985. NA-53 Islamabad, the other seat he had filed his papers for, will see outgoing prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi take on PTI chief Imran Khan.

Mehtab used to be a major contender for the PML-N, enjoying close ties with party supremo Nawaz Sharif. However, despite enjoying the post of adviser to the premier on aviation for a significant chunk of the PML-N’s five-year tenure, he seems to have failed in wooing the new string pullers of the party, the former premier’s son-in-law Captain Safdar. The latter has, instead, struck up a partnership with Murtaza PML-N’s provincial chief Amir Muqam.

Some observers say this was the best scenario for Shehryar since he is a relative unknown compared to his brother and former provincial lawmaker Sardar Shamoon Mehtab.



PTI under a cloud

While the PML-N sorts its crisis, the PTI is in the middle of its own crisis.

In the 2013 general elections, Dr Azhar Khan Jadoon had won a seat for the party in the area. This time around, former deputy speaker of the national assembly Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob was vying for a ticket from the seat. However, the party instead handed the ticket to Ali Asghar Khan, the son of former Air Marshal Asghar Khan.

Unlike Yaqoob, who claims historical family ties to the area, Ali is not considered to be a ‘local’.

Yaqoob, thus, is now running as an independent in NA-15.

He will face off against Murtaza of PML-N and Ali from the PTI. Other contenders including SM Iqbal of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and former PTI lawmaker Ayaz Khan Jadoon.

In NA-16, Ali Khan Jadoon from the PTI will take on Mohabat Awan of the PML-N, and independents Ayaz, Shoukat Tanoli and Saeed Mughal.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2018.