PML-N to face PTI in its stronghold constituency

Candidates for both parties belong to Khokhar tribe

LAHORE: NA-135 has remained a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stronghold for the past two elections, but now a tough fight is expected between PML-N and PTI.

Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, after being convicted in the Avenfield case, has been disqualified from PP-173. The ticket has now been allotted to Irfan Shafi Khokhar, the nephew of PML-N candidate Saiful Mulook Khokhar. Saiful Mulook’s son Faisal Ayub Khokhar will be contesting the elections for the provincial seat PP-161.

The PTI has allotted its ticket to Malik Karamat Ali Khokhar in this election once again.



Due to the new delimitations in NA 135, 30% of the area of PP-170 has been included in NA-135 while the remaining 70% area comes under NA-134. PTI’s Chaudhry Ameen Zulqarnain is taking part in elections from PP-170 while the PML-N has fielded Mian Imran Javed.

Zulqarnain is the younger brother of the political secretary to Imran Khan. Mian Imran Javed and his mother have been serving the people in that area and apart from that, he belongs to the Arain tribe due to which he has significant support.

The candidates of both major political parties in this constituency belong to the Khokhar tribe. Hence, it would not be wrong to suggest that the Khokhar tribe in this constituency is politically split into two parts. Apart from the Khokhar tribe, Awan, Bara, Arain, Kakayzai, and Malik tribes are also present in the area.

The Awan, Bara, and Khokhar tribes are divided between the PTI and PML-N while the Kakayzai, Arain and Malik tribes mostly support PML-N. The total number of registered voters in NA-135 is 243,689 including 134,207 men and 109,482 women.

There are 181 polling stations in the constituency including 63 for men, 59 for women and 59 are common. PML-N won the polls in this constituency in 2008 and 2013. Subsequently, this constituency was considered a stronghold of the party and the Khokhar tribe.

The locals said there was an issue of clean drinking water in the area; however, it was resolved after the installation of water filtration plants.



A young politician in the area, Faisal Ayub Khokhar, who is also a PML-N candidate for PP-170, said his father Saiful Mulook Khokhar and uncle Afzal Khokhar installed 52 water filtration plants and established several colleges for girls.

He said after being elected this time, he would install 50 more water filtration plants and construct of roads and schools in the area.

PTI candidate Malik Karamat Ali, who was runner-up after a tough competition in 2013 polls, seems determined to defeat the PML-N candidate in this election.

PML-N’s Malik Saiful Malook Khokhar is a close friend of Nawaz Sharif.

In the posh areas of NA-135, including Johar town, EME Society, PCSIR, Canal View, PIA Society and others, the vote bank in expected to be greater than that of PML-N.

As many eight candidates have stepped in for national assembly seats in this constituency. One of the candidates is contesting the polls independently. The candidate from Pakistan’s third largest political party, the PPP, is Amjad Ali, while its candidate from PP-173 is Sohail Butt.

For the first time in general elections, two political parties, Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) and Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), are taking contesting polls.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2018.