Sharif family loyalist Iqbal Zafar Jhagra nominated as KP governor

PESHAWAR: Iqbal Zafar Jhagra edged out fellow Muslim Leaguer Pir Sabir Shah to win the favour of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for appointment as the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

There were reports earlier that the two were the frontrunners for the coveted office of the governor that became vacant when yet another Muslim Leaguer, Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan, resigned on February 10 to plan the revival of his career in parliamentary politics.

The 68-year old Jhagra is a committed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member and long-time loyalist of the Sharif family. He is presently the secretary general of the PML-N after having held this position in the past as well. He is a member of the Senate and would have continued to serve as a Senator until 2021 after being elected for a six-year term in 2015.

Though Jhagra belongs to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he was elected Senator from the federal capital, Islamabad because the party wanted to accommodate him and bring him to the parliament. He had earlier failed to win the National Assembly election from his native constituency due to the lack of PML-N votebank in the area.

Jhagra hails from Jhagra village near Peshawar. He kept the PML-N alive in the province and also the country due to his steadfastness. Though some media reports said there was legal hitch for Jhagra to become the governor because he shifted his vote to Islamabad from KP to become eligible for election as Senator, the government must have thought about it before the Prime Minister’s office announced his nomination for the governor’s job and sent his name to President Mamnoon Hussain to formally issue the notification of his appointment.