ABBOTTABAD, Sept 19: The Pakistan Muslim League(N) is struggling very hard to maintain its supremacy in the Abbottabad district on two national and five provincial assembly seats.

The party has failed to field its own candidate on NA-17 (Abbottabad-1) and is backing a new candidate, Dr Azhar Jadoon, the first cousin of Abbottabad District Nazim Col (retd) Mustafa Jadoon and a close relative of NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah.

Abbottabad has had been a stronghold of the PML(N) since long and in this area the Nawaz League made a clean sweep on National and Provincial Assembly seats in the previous elections. Former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif won the elections from NA-18 (previously NA-12) twice.

For the first time, the PML(N) leadership was in a difficult situation in the area to find suitable candidates and tickets were awarded for different seats after a considerable delay and changes were made time and again on two seats.

The PML(N), which is still in hot water, should thank the timely support given by former chief Minister Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan who was released just two days before the last day of filing of nomination papers, on bail. His support for the PML(N) candidate has made the situation tough for the PML(QA) candidate for NA-17, Amanullah Khan Jadoon.

Sardar Mehtab still commands considerable influence in the area politics with a sound vote bank that he has been maintaining since 1985 in upper belt of the Abbottabad district.

Amanullah Khan Jadoon, who has been the strongest rival of Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan since 1988, was being considered to win the NA-17 with a thumping majority but now the wide gap has considerably narrowed down.

Other candidates contesting for NA-17 are: Ali Asghar Khan, brother of late Omar Asghar Khan, who has been backed by QJP, MMA candidate Al-Haj Habib-ur-Rehman Abbasi, Asif Malik Advocate, the chief of Hazara Qaumi Mahaz who is in the race with the support of PAT. Another prominent candidate is PPP’s Sardar Abrar.

In NA-18 (NA-12 previously), Murtaza Javed Abbasi, son of former Senator Haji Javed Iqbal Abbasi, who is currently in jail in connection with some cases initiated by NAB and is backed by PML(N), is facing a tough contest from PML(QA) candidate Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob.

In an eight-man contest for the seat, all other candidates will undermine each other’s position and, except for a major upset which is not expected, no candidate can turn the table.

If Sardar Haider Zaman Baba, who twice fought elections against Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, had been in the race, he would have a marked edge over the rivals but the graduation condition has eliminated him from the contest but he is still taking active part in the constituency’s politics.

Abbottabad’s main city seat is quite interesting and three candidates are considered to be close contenders for it. They are: Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, the former divisional president of Tehrik-i-Istiqlal and a candidate of PML(QA), Shamroz Khan Jadoon, a former provincial minister and only elected member of PPP for provincial assembly from the Hazara Division, and Inayat Iqbal Khan Jadoon, the younger son of former chief Minister of NWFP Iqbal Khan Jadoon. Inayat has succeeded to get the ticket of the PML(N).

The Abbottabad city seat was earlier won by Iqbal Khan Jadoon and his brother Amanullah Khan Jadoon and Fareed Khan Jadoon and the Jadoon tribe has had a complete hold on the politics of the Abbottabad district with little share by Malik Abdur Rauf but after the arrival of Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, Amanulah Khan Jadoon lost all battles and the seat was won by the Khan family.

The Jadoon tribe has sufficient votes in the district but four Jadoons are fighting for the provincial assembly seats. They are: Inayat Iqbal Khan Jadoon, Shamroz Khan Jadoon, Muzaffar Khan Jadoon (MMA) and Mustafa Khan Jadoon (Millat) and if votes of the Jadoon tribe get divided, it would benefit others. Though in the city, parties like PML(N), PML(QA) and PPP had their own vote banks and such votes will not be cast in favour of tribes but the ratio will be very meagre.

The spilt in the Jadoons will change the result and it is very interesting to see the fight of an uncle with is nephew as Amanullah Khan Jadoon is contesting from PML(QA) and his nephew Inayat Iqbal Khan Jadoon is contesting from PML(N), though Amanullah Khan is for the National Assembly seat and Inayat Iqbal is a candidate for a provincial assembly seat.