PTI suffers jolt as ANP wins Bajaur by-election

PESHAWAR/ KHAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suffered a jolt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the Awami National Party (ANP) candidate on Thursday won the by-election on PK-22 constituency in Bajaur.

According to unofficial results, Nisar Baz Khan of ANP emerged victorious by securing 11,926 votes. Independent candidate Najeebullah Khan was the runner-up with 10,622 votes, while Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) candidate Abid Khan came third with 10,593 votes and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed Sunni Ittehad Council candidate Rahatullah Khan managed to bag only 7,146 ballots.

Political pundits had predicted the position of independent candidate Najeebullah Khan as weak despite his uncle former senator Hidyatullah Khan’s killing in a bomb blast last week.

According to the Election Commission, 12 candidates contested the by-election on PK-22, which fell vacant after Mubarak Zeb Khan, who also won the NA-8 in the April 21 by-election, vacated it. As many as 91 polling stations were established, out of which 43 were declared sensitive, and 23 most sensitive. Special security arrangements had been made for the polling in a peaceful manner. The total number of registered voters in the constituency was 107,910, including 79,972 women.

As many as 12 candidates were in the run for the by-polls, including Muhammad Nisar Baz of Awami National Party, Rahatullah of Sunni Unity Council, Saddam Hussain of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Abid Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Abdullah from Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian and seven independent contenders Habib Gul, Javed Khan, Said Rehman, Akhtar Gul, Noor Shah, Najibullah and, Gul Munir.

Bajaur witnessed its second by-poll within five months since the February 8 general elections. The February 8 general elections were postponed in this constituency after the death of a candidate Rehan Zeb Khan in an attack during his election campaign. In the by-elections on April 21, Rehan Zeb’s brother Mubarak Zeb was fielded by the elders and youth from NA-8 and PK-22 who won both the slots with huge support from locals.