Haripur by-poll another test case for PTI’s popularity

ISLAMABAD: The name of Imran Khan’s spouse Reham Khan has once again been mentioned by certain media reports as a potential candidate for the just fallen vacant NA-19 Haripur seat which if proved true will be considered as big political twist by the party. The story was run by a couple of newspapers which the PTI Secretary Information Dr Shireen Mazari instantly refuted.
Talking to the News on Monday, Mazari said “So far as my knowledge is concerned Raja Amir Zaman (who originally won said seat in 2013 polls) is PTI candidate at the said seat. She said that Imran Khan had been on record to have said his spouse was not interested in active politics nor would he suggest her to be. Reham Khan has herself clarified various reports in this respect that she would never accept any party or public office and will only work for its promotion while remaining behind.
It will also be interesting to recall that Imran Khan has been criticizing his rival PPP and PML-N leaderships for making the party a family and friends affairs rather than running them on merit.
The PTI, fresh from a marginal win over PML-N candidate in PB-97, is soon to face another test of its popularity in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when its candidate will contest in the by-polls from NA-19 the seat which has been alternately won by former president Ayub Khan’s family or ‘Rajagan’ family scions of Khanpur. PTI has been criticised by the political opponents especially PM Nawaz Sharif for having failed to deliver or to bring a change that it has been boasting of.
The party is already under tremendous pressure of the opposition parties of the province for its failure to conduct free and fair local government polls on June 3 and have joined hands to demand its resignation. Moreover, the PTI also failed to win sufficient seats in the local bodies polls to show that it was still most popular entity of the province.
PTI candidate from NA-19 Haripur Raja Amir Zaman Khan has been provided with a golden chance by the Supreme Court verdict ordering re-polling on the seat and refund of salary/perks that his rival Omar Ayub Khan has received so far. Raja Amir Zaman Khan belongs to renowned family a political scion of former Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Raja George Sikandar Zaman Khan while Omar Ayub Khan is grandson of field marshal Ayub Khan who remained a minister of state in Musharraf’s king party (PML-Q) led government and is now chairman National Assembly’s standing committee on finance.