BY AMJAD YOUSAF ZAI
HAZRO: “Lion” set to roar in provincial assembly constituency of PP-1, Hazro as electioneering scenario, absence of political arch rival from political arena and active support from various clans have set the stage for PML-
ECP announced the delimitations of Punjab assembly constituencies located in district Attock on 5th August 2022 and the constituency was named as PP-I Attock-I and votes living in tehsil Hazro and Kamra Cantonment were included in this constituency. According to election commission, the number of registered voters are 293444 among them male voters are 1, 53,633 and female voters are 1, 39,811.
Political engineering, absence of PTI candidates in electioneering and not running their election campaign, division in various parties ranks and distancing themselves from the voters and supporters by various leaders have cleared the way of PML-N candidate to roam freely in the political arena and paving his way for third consecutive term for the PML-candidate Jahangir Khanzada. Mr Khanzada entry in the political battlefield was all off sudden as he become member Punjab assembly in by-elections held on October 6, 2015 against the seat fell vacant due to the assassination of his father Col (Retd) Shuja Khanzada in a tragic suicide attack occurred on 16 August, 2015 in his ancestral home village Shadi Khan. At that time the constituency was named as PP-16 Attock-II. This constituency has strong supremacy of the Khanzada family as in the 2002 general election this constituency which was named as PP-16 Attock-II, Shuja Khanzada was elected after securing over 25 thousand votes while contesting as Independent candidate. Later he joined PML-N. In the general elections of 2008, Shuja Khanzada as an Independent candidate won the seat by getting 25,313 votes. In the 2013 general election constituency which was named as PP-16 Attock-II, Shuja Khanzada- contesting as PML-N candidate won election by securing 38,791 votes beating Qazi Ahmad Akbar of PTI who secured 18,549 votes. In by election of 2015 which was held after the sad demise of his father colonel (retd) Shuja Khanzada in tragic suicide attack, his son Jahangir Khanzada of PML(N) won the seat. Again in the 2018 general election, the constituency which was named as PP-16 Attock-II PML(N) Jahangir Khanzada won by securing 46,002 votes by beating PTI candidate Qazi Ahmad Akbar who secured 42,922 votes.
Khanzada’s political arch rival- Qazi Ahmed Akbar belongs to Jatyal village. Mr Akbar who remained PTI district President and remains a close associate of PTI Chief Imran Khan has been underground since the May 9 incident after his nomination in various cases registered against him under anti terrorist act (ATA). His nomination papers were rejected by the returning officer (RO) and subsequently the Election Tribunal for Rawalpindi has in January this year ruled that candidates facing accusations who have not surrendered before the court will not be permitted to enter the election arena. This is the first time his mother has come from the platform of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for this seat. Although Mr Akbar like other candidates of PTI is running his election campaign through social media platforms and person to person contact but due to his absence from the political arena has ruined his electioneering. “Hazro town is a rural area and people only like those leaders who are among them and attend their family events and absence of Mr Akbar from the political arena from the last 9 months has almost collapsed his vote bank”. Said Nisar Ali Khan- a social worker of the area. Muhammad Afsar- a political observer of the view that traditional and baradari politics play a key role in the politics of the Chach area. He said that although the PTI has a strong vote bank, traditional and cultural taboos of absence from marriages and deaths of their leader play a decisive role in the politics of the area. He added that religious parties like TLP and JI also have a strong vote bank but they cannot turn tables. He further added that winning election for two terms by Mr Khanzada has a psychological impact on the voters which would paved way for him to conquer the political battlefield for a third time.
