Pervez Khattak continues to show his political clout in KP

PESHAWAR: Federal Defence Minister Pervez Khattak may be in some trouble as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is investigating him for misuse of power, but he showed his political clout recently by getting his younger brother Liaqat Khattak appointed as a provincial minister ahead of other potential candidates in their native Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

There has been talk of inducting more ministers in the provincial cabinet for months or reshuffling the cabinet and changing portfolios. The several candidates for the cabinet berths were hopeful that they would be inducted in the cabinet in one go but that didn’t happen and only Liaqat Khattak was administered oath as minister.

Liaqat Khattak, who won the provincial assembly seat, PK-64 Nowshera, vacated by Pervez Khattak in the by-election held in October last year, was being mentioned as a top contender for a berth in the cabinet. He not only became a minister but also got the prized irrigation portfolio. In fact, it appears as if this portfolio was kept for him even though the wait got a bit longer than anticipated. Pervez Khattak too had remained irrigation minister in the province before he rose in the ranks to become the chief minister. Pervez Khattak had won three seats - one in the National Assembly and two in the KP Assembly - in the July 2018 general election. He vacated the two provincial assembly seats. The second seat, PK-61 Nowshera, was won by his son Ibrahim Khattak, who will now be groomed to eventually become a minister.

Pervez Khattak, who has been in politics for nearly 35 years, has been dominating Nowshera district in the past few elections. He was able to induct and promote his family members in politics. His family now has eight elected members in the assembly and local government. The term, Pervez Khattak dynasty, is now being used to describe his family.

Apart from his brother Liaqat Khattak and son Ibrahim Khattak, other members of his family include lawmakers Nafeesa Khattak and Sajida Begum, who are his sister-in-law and niece, respectively. Among them is also his son-in-law Dr Imran Khattak, who is also the elected MNA from Nowshera. Other younger members of the Khattak family are holding top offices in the local government in Nowshera.