PML-N leader Saranjam Khan passes away

MARDAN: Veteran Muslim Leaguer Saranjam Khan who remained central secretary general of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) passed away early Thursday. He was 88. He had been ill for some time and was suffering from heart and kidney-related diseases.

The deceased, also known as Saranjam Khan Zamindar because he was a landlord, served as member of the Senate from 1991 to 1999. His Namaz-i-Janaza was offered on at his residence at Baghdada in Mardan city. He was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Mardan.

A large number of people from all walks of life attended his funeral prayers. Among them were PML-N provincial president Amir Muqam and Pir Sabir Shah. Saranjam Khan was the father of Khalid Saranjam Khan and Tariq Saranjam Khan. His daughter Salma Ataullah Jan is a senator in Canada. He was also the father-in-law of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s former chief secretary Shakil Durrani, Saleem Ataullah and Dr Azam. The deceased belonged to a prominent landowning family of Mardan. He always remained a Muslim Leaguer and spent most of his years in politics as a loyal member of the PML-N.

Saranjam Khan gained prominence in the PML-N after the 1988 general election. He worked for the party in various capacities. He was appointed the secretary general of the party in early 1990s. He also remained the party’s central vice-president. During the rule of military dictator General Pervez Musharraf, the PML-N and the family of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif became the target of his wrath. Saranjam Khan, however, remained loyal to the party and the Sharifs.

On one occasion in 2012, Saranjam Khan developed differences with the PML-N leadership and resigned from its basic membership to protest the appointment of Rahmat Salam Khattak, a party leader from Karak, as the provincial general secretary of the PML-N. A number of prominent PML-N activists including former provincial minister Abdul Subhan Khan, former MPA Rahim Khan Bacha, Kamal Khan, Gul Faraz Khan and Humayun Khan also quit the party along with Saranjam Khan. However, Saranjam Khan refused to join any other political party despite requests as he wanted to remain a Muslim Leaguer.