HARIPUR: Rejection of appeals by an election tribunal against the acceptance of nomination papers of senior PTI leader Yousuf Ayub Khan, a candidate for NA-18 and PK-46 seats here, has made things in the run-up to the Feb 8 general elections interesting.

Mr Yousuf was cleared to contest elections by returning officers for the two constituencies after rejecting objections of political rivals to his papers over his Dubai iqama (work permit) and lifetime disqualification under Constitution’s Article 62(1)(f) and the Representation of People Act, 1976.

The decision was upheld by the election appellate tribunalon Tuesday.

Mr Yousuf – the first cousin of PTI general secretary Omar Ayub Khan – made his political debut in 1988 and served as the transport minister in the provincial cabinet led by Chief Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao from 1988 to 1990 after a group of independent MPAs from Hazara Division and other areas supported the PPP to form the government.

He joined the PML-N in 1993 and won the 1997 election but lost the 2002 election to Qazi Asad. Mr Yousuf acted as the district nazim from 2005 to 2010 and joined the PTI in 2011.

Yousuf Ayub was disqualified for life in 2013 over degree misdeclaration

He won the 2013 election as a PTI’s nominee and became the minister for communication and works in CM Pervez Khattak’s cabinet but was unseated and disqualified for life in Sept 2013 over misdeclaration of his educational qualification under Constitution’s Article 62(1)(f) and Section 99 of the Ropa, 1976.

Lawyers for Mr Yousuf insist that his disqualification was for five years under Section 100 of the Ropa but the point was overlooked by his legal advisers in the past making him wait for around a decade to become eligible for any public office.

“The disqualification period of five years is clearly mentioned in Section 100 of the Ropa, so the apex court’s verdict in the Nawaz Sharif disqualification case has no domino effect in Mr Yousuf’s punishment that should have been over in 2018,” insisted lawyer Haq Nawaz Safdar, who challenged objections to the PTI leader’s nomination papers before the election tribunal of Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel.

Observers claim that despite disqualification, Mr Yousuf stayed in contact with voters and not only carried out election campaigns of his brothers Arshad Ayub and Akbar Ayub and cousin Omar Ayub in 2018 but also enjoyed their powers as the “de facto minister” and issued directions to government departments about development schemes and even for the hiring and firing of officials.

Surprisingly, the plaques of scores of development projects installed on Haripur streets carried the name of Mr Yousuf along with those of his cousin as the federal minister and brothers Arshad and Akbar as ministers in CM Mahmood Khan’s cabinet.

Family insiders and party sources told Dawn that Mr Yousuf’s papers were filed just as the covering candidate for cousin Omar and brother Akbar Ayub - PTI candidates – as both were skeptical about the chances of getting a go-ahead for contesting elections in light of criminal cases and disqualification of other party leaders and nominees in the country.

Mr Omar will face Babar Nawaz of the PML-N in NA-18 election, while Mr Akbar is testing his luck to make a hat trick as MPAs from PK-46 against an independent candidate and former two times MPA and education minister, Qazi Mohammad Asad Khan.

It is not clear yet if Mr Yousuf will be able to convince his cousin, Omar Ayub, or his younger brother, Akbar Ayub, to leave an assembly seat for him this time around, the returning officer and tribunal’s decisions of clearing election path for him has turned electoral scene in Haripur incredibly interesting, according to observers.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2024