Untimely death cuts short Arbab Akbar Hayat’s upward political mobility

Obituary

PESHAWAR: Arbab Akbar Hayat had scored an upset victory in the May 2013 general election to become member of the provincial assembly after a couple of failed attempts earlier, but he was unable to complete his term due to his untimely death due to cardiac arrest last week.

His win in 2013 was remarkable because his was the only seat out of the 11 contested in Peshawar city and district that wasn’t won by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Besides, he won as the candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which hasn’t got much of a vote-bank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa except Hazara division. It meant that most of the votes polled by Arbab Akbar Hayat were his own and not his party’s. More importantly, he defeated two strong candidates – former provincial minister Asif Iqbal Daudzai of the JUI-F who won the seat in 2002 and the 2008 winner, PPP’s Malik Tehmash Khan.

Vocal and assertive, Arbab Akbar Hayat had risen in the party ranks by being chosen as the deputy parliamentary leader of the PML-N in the provincial assembly. Then in December 2015, he became the joint candidate of the otherwise divisive opposition parties for the position of Deputy Speaker against the PTI’s Dr Mehr Taj Roghani. It was obvious he will lose the contest due to the dominant strength of the PTI and its allied parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, but his candidature became a matter of record because Dr Mehr Taj Roghani was the first ever woman in the province to be elected as Deputy Speaker.

At a time when most politicians were joining the ruling parties or those likely to come into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Arbab Akbar Hayat remained loyal first to the PML-Q and then the PML-N, both with no real chance to come into power in the province. Hailing from Kankola village located near Peshawar, he was often found in the provincial capital trying to make or renew acquaintances and hoping to do something for the people in his constituency. His hard work and campaigning skills together with his family’s political influence enabled him to win the provincial assembly seat, PK-8, from rural Peshawar. It was one of the few provincial assembly seats, the other being in Swat, Shangla and Swabi, that the PML-N won outside its stronghold of Hazara.

It is hard to believe that Arbab Akbar Hayat, a friendly man who led an active life, is no more. He was 47 years old and was hoping to play a long political innings.

The Arbabs, whether from Tehkal, Landi Arbab, Nasirpur, Kankola or other villages sited in Peshawar district, have always played a prominent role in politics from the platform of almost every party. Many enter politics at a young age, mostly contesting for offices in the local government and then graduating to the higher stage of electoral contests for the assembly. Arbab Akbar Hayat too had begun his political career by winning contest for the nazim of his native union council and getting trained to aspire for higher offices. He was climbing up the ladder of success step by step, but death brought his upward journey to an abrupt end.