Central leaders of mainstream parties taste defeat in KP

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Aftab Ahmad Sherpao are among the central leaders of the major political parties, who lost elections from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The central chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman, central amir of Jamaat-e-Islam (JI) Sirajul Haq, central president of Awami National Party (ANP) Asfandyar Wali Khan and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif also faced a defeat at the hands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates in various constituencies from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto was contesting election from NA-8, Malakand and he could get 43724 votes, the MMA and JUI-F’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman from two National Assembly constituencies NA-38 and NA-39, Sirajul Haq of JI from his hometown NA-7, Lower Dir-I, the QWP’s chief Aftab Sherpao from NA-23, Charsadda, the PML-N chief Shahbaz Sharif was contesting from NA-3, Swat. The PTI’s Salim Rehman defeated Shahbaz Sharif by achieving 68162 votes.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman lost the election from two constituencies at the hands of PTI’s Ali Amin Khan and Mohammad Yaqoob Sheikh from NA-38 and Na-39, respectively.

The PTI’s Ali Amin Khan received 80236 votes against Fazlur Rehman’s 45457 votes in NA-38. The JUI-F chief received 51920 votes against the PTI’s Mohammad Yaqoob Sheikh’s 79150 on NA-39.

According to unofficial results, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Junaid Akbar received 81310 votes against the PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto.

The QWP chief Aftab Ahmad Sherpao was defeated by the PTI candidate on his hometown NA-23, Charsadda. Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan was also defeated by the PTI’s Fazal Mohammad Khan, who obtained 83495 votes.

Rejecting the results, MMA chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced to convene an All Parties Conference (APC). Similarly, the PPP and PML-N have also convened their central committees to discuss and draw future line of action.

Former federal ministers, ANP candidate on NA-31 Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and PPP candidate on NA-30 Arbab Alamgir Khan, who were defeated by the PTI’s Haji Shaukat Ali and Sher Ali Arbab, respectively, have accepted their defeat.