Hafizabad, one of the newest districts in Punjab, is also the province's smallest in terms of area. It was formed in 1991, when the tehsil of Hafizabad was separated from the district of Gujranwala. The district consists of two tehsils, Hafizabad and Pindi Bhattian, and its politics is dominated by the rival Bhatti and Tarar families in the rural areas, while the Ansari, Malik, Jat and Mehar biradris are influential in the urban political scene.

Hafizabad is a rice-producing area and its cultivation accounts for up to half of the country's rice exports. Cattle herding is also a common occupation. The area was once known as Shiraz-e-Hind because it is the birthplace of celebrated poets and intellectuals such as Mansha Yaad and Hairat Jalalpuri. However, cattle rustling and gunrunning have earned the district a bad name and numerous criminals have found sanctuary in its riverside forests.


Constituencies:

NA102:

Chaudhry Mehdi Hassan Bhatti of the PMLQ clinched this seat in 2002 after beating Mohammad Usman Tarar, a retired brigadier representing the PMLN, by almost 7,000 votes. However, this time the Election Commission has blocked Hassan Bhatti's re-election bid, declaring his bachelor's degree invalid. His son, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, a former provincial minister, is contesting in his place. Meanwhile, the PMLN candidate is Saira Afzal, daughter-in-law of former president Rafiq Tarar and the PPP is represented by Malik Shaukat Hayat Awan, who has a history of contesting elections at the provincial level — but without success so far.

NA103:

PMLQ candidate, Chaudhry Liaquat Abbas Bhatti, the younger brother of Chaudhry Mehdi Hassan Bhatti, won this seat by some 25,000 votes against an independent candidate, Chaudhry Sarfaraz Khan Bhatti, in 2002. Chaudhry Liaquat Abbas Bhatti will hope to repeat his victory in February against Shahid Hussain Bhatti of the PMLN and a newcomer Mushtaq Ahmed Mohal, the PPP candidate. The PPP had originally awarded its ticket to Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti. However, as Bhatti was an active participant in the ongoing protests carried out by the legal community, he withdrew his nomination papers after the bar decided to boycott the February polls.