Senior politician Iqbal Hussain Khattak passes away

NOWSHERA: A senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) and former provincial minister Iqbal Hussain Khattak passed away here on Sunday. He was 80.

The family sources said the elderly politician was not keeping good health. He remained hospitalised for a month but finally lost the battle for life.

The funeral prayers were offered at his native Dag Ismailkhel village in the Nowshera district. He was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard.

A large number of people from various walks of life attended the funeral rites of the deceased. Some among them were veteran politician Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, ANP central secretary general, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Asif Luqman Qazi of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Syed Zahir Ali Shah of the Pakistan People’s Party, Engineer Tariq Khattak of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), retired Lt-General Alam Khattak, former district nazim Daud Khattak, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member National Assembly Dr Imran Khattak, MPA Ibrahim Khattak and ANP’s Khalil Abbas Khattak.

He was the brother of late Dr Haider Zaman Khattak and Sikandar Hayat Khattak and father of Tajammul Khattak.

Fateh Khwani is being offered for the departed soul at the family residence at Dag Ismailkhel. The Qul ceremony will be held on Tuesday.

Iqbal Hussain Khattak, who was also a businessman and owned a construction firm, enjoyed a wide respect due to his gentle nature and clean politics even though he kept changing parties.

The late politician launched his political career in 1979 when he was elected member of the District Council Nowshera. He was re-elected to the council in 1983. Iqbal Hussain Khattak joined the PPP in 1988 and contested the election on the party ticket, but lost. He was elected to the provincial assembly in 1993 from the PPP platform and was made a minister in the Aftab Sherpao-led provincial government. When Aftab Sherpao developed differences with the party leadership and launched his own faction PPP-Sherpao, Iqbal Hussain Khattak also quit the mainstream PPP and joined hands with him. Later, he joined the Qaumi Watan Party, the new name given to the party by Aftab Sherpao.

He later joined the PTI, but left the party over disagreement on the award of the party ticket for the general election. His final destination was the ANP with which he remained associated until death.

Late Iqbal Hussain Khattak was popular with the people due to his nobility. He kept close liaison with them even when he was in the government.