Electioneering is gaining momentum in Nowshera District as the Pakistan Peoples’ Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have fielded politicians from Khattak tribe to win polls from NA-5 Nowshera-I constituency.
The PPPP has fielded a strong candidate and former member National Assembly who won the last elections, Tariq Khattak.
The ANP has fielded new entrant and former Nowshera district nazim Daud Khattak who dissociated himself from the PPP.
PTI Central General Secretary Pervez Khattak is believed to be the strong candidate in NA-5 constituency as he has not lost the elections on provincial assembly constituency PK-13 since 1988.
The Jamaat-e-Islami has awarded party ticket to Asif Luqman Qazi, son of Qazi Hussain Ahmed and expected to give tough time to his political rivals.
Intra-party bickering within the ranks of the PPP in the constituency, the political observers believed may damage PPP vote bank because Shehzad Ali Khan, son of Senator Sardar Ali Khan, a close aide of President Asif Zardari, has jumped in the fray as an independent candidate.
The PPP retained the 2008 winner Tariq Khattak for 2013 elections, irritating Senator Sardar Ali Khan, who ruled the KP PPP chapter for about one year, to put up his son as independent candidate from the constituency.
History revealed that this constituency comprising of PK-12 and PK-13 was won both by candidates whether secular or religious parties and no political party could claim to have strong and permanent hold over electorates.
Up to 1997, this constituency was called NA-4 and was won by senior politicians, including former interior minister and PPP stalwart late Major Gen (r) Naseerullah Khan Babar, ANP’s former President Ajmal Khattak, former JI chief late Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Abdul Haq. Later, due to delimitation, Nowshera was given NA-5 and NA-6 constituencies.
In 1988 general elections, the constituency was won by Mian Muzzafar Shah on a PPP ticket by securing 27,902 votes against ANP’s Ahrar Khattak who secured 27,817 votes.
Similarly, in 1990 elections, the ANP has again awarded party ticket to Ajmal Khattak who easily won by security 38,389 votes against Peoples Democratic Alliance joint candidate Pervez Khattak with 25,722 votes while JUI-F’s Sher Ali Shah bagged only 13961 votes.
In 1993 elections, PPP had changed the old candidates and awarded party ticket to former interior minister Lt Gen (r) Naseerullah Babar who won it by securing 36,116 votes against Ajmal Khattak’s 30,020 votes and Pakistan Islami Front Mirajuddin Khan bagged 15,896 votes while winner of 1988 election Muzaffar Shah contested as independent.
In 1997, the ANP had fielded a new candidate Wali Muhammad Khan who grabbed 43,511 votes and defeated Naseerullah Babar who obtained 22,213 votes and PTI which had jumped into political arena for the first time had awarded party ticket to Umar Khan Yousufzai who secured only 3022 votes.
In 2002 elections, MMA had grabbed majority seats in this province.
Former JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed had also secured victory from here by obtaining 40,879 votes against Naseerullah Babar (22,189 votes) and ANP Mian Rashid (11944 votes).
Slain PPPP chairwoman Benazir Bhutto in her short stay in Pakistan from October 18 to December 27, 2007 had visited the constituency and addressed her party workers in Nowshera and Pabbi.
The total registered voters in the constituency are 325,813 including 182,452 male and 143,361 female.
The problems of NA-5 are flood threats, unplanned urbanisation, unemployment, environmental pollution, load shedding, overloaded transformers that need to be addressed.
Any candidate who presented solid programmes would get an edge over others.