Two ANP lawmakers running in general election to retain seats

PESHAWAR: Two of the four Awami National Party (ANP) lawmakers elected to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in 2013 are contesting the general election to retain their seats.

Sardar Hussain Babak, Syed Jafar Shah, Ahmed Khan Bahadur and Gohar Ali Shah were elected to the KP Assembly in the 2013 election from different parts of the province.

Ahmed Khan Bahadur was elected to the assembly in the by-election after Ameer Haider Hoti vacated his PK-23 Mardan seat (now PK-53) and opted for the National Assembly after the 2013 general election.

Ameer Haider Hoti is running for the PK-53 and NA-21 in the 2018 general election. Ahmed Khan Bahadur is hopeful that the ANP's provincial president would win both seats.

He said that he would contest the by-election after Haider Hoti vacates one of the two seats. Ahmed Khan Bahadur had won the general election in 2008 on PK-24.

The former ANP parliamentary leader in KP Assembly Sardar Hussain Babak is running for PK-22 Buner to retain his seat. He is contesting election for the fourth time from his native Buner district.

He won the seat PF-77 Buner in the 2008 election and was given the portfolio of education.

He had lost the seat in the 2002 election to Jamshed Khan of the Pakistan People's Party (Sherpao), which has now been renamed as Qaumi Watan Party.

A graduate of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Sardar Hussain Babak worked for two years as a journalist. As a student, he actively participated in the activities of the Pakhtun Students Federation.

His uncle Mohammad Karim Babak had won the family seat twice in 1988 and 1997 and remained a minister.

Syed Jafar Shah was elected to the assembly on PF-85 Swat in the 2008 election. He defeated the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) stalwart and former federal minister, Amir Muqam.

Contesting election for the third time, Syed Jafar Shah is facing Amir Muqam again, among other candidates. However, this time Amir Muqam is contesting election on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket.

Jafar Shah, who was a social worker before contesting election, visited several Asian and European countries. He worked for a number of development organisations for 25 years. He has authored 10 books and research papers.

Jafar Shah did BSc from the Jehanzeb College in Mingora, and got an LLB degree from Islamia Law College in Karachi.

Another ANP candidate Gohar Ali Shah was elected to the KP Assembly from Mardan in 2013. However, he did not receive the party ticket for the 2018 general election.

ANP has fielded Farooq Akram Khan in PK-48 Mardan, the constituency from where Gohar Ali Shah won the election in 2013.