Change of heart?: QWP Charsadda leaders jump ship

CHARSADDA:

Qaumi Watan Party has suffered yet another blow after its Charsadda district vice chairman and former union council nazim Asif Jan as well as another office bearer, Imran Khan Turangzai, decided to abandon Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao’s ranks.

Jan joined Awami National Party while Turangzai decided to begin a new chapter in his political career with Jamaat-e-Islami. The announcements were made separately on Wednesday.

Jan made the decision public at a meeting also addressed by his new party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan. On the other hand, Turganzai made the announcement at a press conference in the presence of several JI leaders.

While election campaigns of political parties across the province are in full swing, QWP continues to languish in the shadows. The party which became K-P’s major political force following the 2013 general elections has now lost the trust of its own office-bearers who are choosing to run for seats in personal capacity or switching sides.

QWP performed poorly in the Cantonment board polls and a similar result is expected in the upcoming local government elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2015.