JUI-F MNA may join PPP: Sources
Khan has agreed to shift to PPP if granted development funds.
Laiq Muhammed Khan likely to join PPP. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ABBOTABAD:
Another Member of National Assembly (MNA) is likely to join the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during the next two weeks, informed sources told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.
The sources maintained that MNA Laiq Muhammad Khan of NA 21, Mansehra II, has consented to join the PPP.
Khan held multiple meetings with Faryal Talpur, the younger sister of President Zardari, assuring her of announcing his plan of joining the party that is being currently headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The sources quoted Khan as saying that he will join the party if government announces uplift schemes worth a billion rupees for his constituency, comprising the newly-formed Torghar District which is infamous for growing poppy and being underdeveloped.
Khan was elected during the 2010 by elections following the death of his cousin Faiz Muhammad Khan, who was also an MNA on the ticket of Jamiat UIema-e-Islam (JUI-F). Khan happens to be the first cousin of former federal minister and Senator Azam Khan Swati, who resigned due to the Hajj scandal and joined Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.
A scion of the influential Swati tribe, Khan defeated a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Haji Tahir Ali, who is the elder brother of Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, in 2011.
Since Safdar is also expected to contest the coming elections, Khan who was more concerned about staging comeback for the second time by keeping his vote bank intact, got several development projects worth millions approved from the prime minister and has now agreed to join the PPP on the condition of ensuring his comeback on the basis of development schemes for his constituency.
The sources further said because the PPP has a vast but scattered vote bank in Hazara, it had hardly won one or two seats from the region. All those who became part of the PPP government in the past were elected as independent candidates.
According to party sources, the senior party leadership has embarked on a strategy to win the sympathies of all the candidates who were disgruntled with their parties. The sources added such candidates are being lured in the name of uplift schemes.
Earlier, Sardar Mushtaq, an MNA of PML-N from NA-19 Haripur, was made to break away from a party he remained with for over two decades. When contacted, a senior party leader in Hazara confirmed the report of Khan’s meeting with Talpur and an agreement between them. However the source said that since JUI-F was one of the allies of PPP, the policy of keeping these contacts discreet has been agreed upon till the announcement of election.
Moreover, the source said that PPP’s leadership was not prepared to provoke JUI-F at this juncture. Despite repeated calls on his phone, the MNA could not be contacted. On the other hand, one of his close aids denied the report of his joining PPP.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2013.
Another Member of National Assembly (MNA) is likely to join the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during the next two weeks, informed sources told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.
The sources maintained that MNA Laiq Muhammad Khan of NA 21, Mansehra II, has consented to join the PPP.
Khan held multiple meetings with Faryal Talpur, the younger sister of President Zardari, assuring her of announcing his plan of joining the party that is being currently headed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The sources quoted Khan as saying that he will join the party if government announces uplift schemes worth a billion rupees for his constituency, comprising the newly-formed Torghar District which is infamous for growing poppy and being underdeveloped.
Khan was elected during the 2010 by elections following the death of his cousin Faiz Muhammad Khan, who was also an MNA on the ticket of Jamiat UIema-e-Islam (JUI-F). Khan happens to be the first cousin of former federal minister and Senator Azam Khan Swati, who resigned due to the Hajj scandal and joined Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.
A scion of the influential Swati tribe, Khan defeated a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Haji Tahir Ali, who is the elder brother of Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, in 2011.
Since Safdar is also expected to contest the coming elections, Khan who was more concerned about staging comeback for the second time by keeping his vote bank intact, got several development projects worth millions approved from the prime minister and has now agreed to join the PPP on the condition of ensuring his comeback on the basis of development schemes for his constituency.
The sources further said because the PPP has a vast but scattered vote bank in Hazara, it had hardly won one or two seats from the region. All those who became part of the PPP government in the past were elected as independent candidates.
According to party sources, the senior party leadership has embarked on a strategy to win the sympathies of all the candidates who were disgruntled with their parties. The sources added such candidates are being lured in the name of uplift schemes.
Earlier, Sardar Mushtaq, an MNA of PML-N from NA-19 Haripur, was made to break away from a party he remained with for over two decades. When contacted, a senior party leader in Hazara confirmed the report of Khan’s meeting with Talpur and an agreement between them. However the source said that since JUI-F was one of the allies of PPP, the policy of keeping these contacts discreet has been agreed upon till the announcement of election.
Moreover, the source said that PPP’s leadership was not prepared to provoke JUI-F at this juncture. Despite repeated calls on his phone, the MNA could not be contacted. On the other hand, one of his close aids denied the report of his joining PPP.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2013.