LAHORE: The Sharif and Khokhar families got the lion’s share of tickets on the coveted National Assembly seats in Lahore as PML-N finally announced its list of candidates for the general elections.

The announcement followed protracted deliberation as the party had a seat adjustment agreement with the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) and had to accommodate its leaders.

The party also managed to solve the dispute between Sheikh Rohail Asghar and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. Both were vying for a ticket from the NA-121 seat, claiming that their areas from previous constituencies were merged into it after new delimitation.

Mr Asghar prevailed in the contest, apparently due to the “vote of party supremo Nawaz Sharif”. Mr Sadiq will now contest from the NA-120 seat.

Party manages to solve Ayaz-Rohail tiff; IPP also issues list of final candidates

With the announcement of candidates, the party has directed leaders who failed to get tickets to withdraw their nomination papers.

Ishaq Dar, the head of PML-N’s central election cell, said those leaders should now “extend all-out support to the party-nominated candidates”.

The Khokhar-Sharif show

Mr Nawaz will contest NA-130 and have to face the challenge from PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid, who is currently in prison.

Mr Nawaz’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, has been nominated on two NA and one Punjab Assembly seat — NA-123 (Lahore), NA-132 (Kasur) and PP-164 (Lahore).

Mr Shehbaz’s son, Hamza Shehbaz, has got tickets from NA-118 (old Lahore) and PP-147.

PML-N chief organiser Maryam Nawaz Sharif has got the ticket from NA-119, the constituency of her choice. This has effectively pushed IPP’s Aleem Khan to NA-117.

Ms Sharif is also contesting on PP-159. She, however, has withdrawn her nomination papers from two Punjab Assembly seats on the leadership’s direction to accommodate some other party leaders.

The Khokhar family managed to bag tickets from four National and provincial assembly constituencies in Lahore.

Saiful Malook Khokhar, president of the party’s Lahore chapter and also “a blue-eyed leader” of Ms Sharif, will contest from NA-126. His brother, Afzal Khokhar, got the ticket from NA-125; his son, Faisal Khokhar, from PP-168; and his relative, Imran Shafi, from PP-167.

The Khokhar family has been bestowed with tickets despite severe resentment among the party ranks for favouring the wealthy Khokhars at the cost of loyal workers.

Even Mr Hamza had requested his uncle, Mr Nawaz, to accommodate loyal workers on different constituencies in Lahore and other parts of Punjab, but to no avail.

Other notable party loyalists who failed to make the cut are Shaista Pervaiz Malik, the wife of late PML-N Lahore president Pervaiz Malik, and her son Ali Pervaiz.

The party has reportedly told them that it had to accommodate the IPP and PTI deserters “under compulsion”.

For the remaining NA seats in Lahore, the ticket for NA-122 went to Khawaja Saad Rafique, NA-124 to Rana Mubashir Iqbal, NA-127 to Attaullah Tarar and NA-129 to Hafiz Nauman.

Out of 14 NA seats in Lahore, the party has announced candidates on 12, apparently leaving the two seats — NA-117 and NA-128 — for IPP leaders Aleem Khan and Awn Chaudhry, respectively.

However, both PML-N and IPP are tight-lipped over their seat-adjustment arrangements.

In total, PML-N has left seven NA and 11 Punjab Assembly seats for top IPP leaders.

As both PML-N and IPP have yet to announce formal seat adjustment, sources believe that last-minute tinkering is being done to the plan.

IPP announces candidates

Separately, the IPP also issued a list of over 50 candidates for National and Punjab Assembly seats on Friday.

According to the list, IPP’s patron-in-chief, Jahangir Khan Tareen, will be the candidate from NA-155 and NA-149 in Lodhran and Multan, respectively.

On the Lodhran seat, PML-N has already awarded the ticket to Saddique Baloch.

IPP secretary general Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan is the candidate on NA-70 Sialkot after PML-N refused her the ticket and gave it to Armaghan Subhani.

The party’s president, Mr Aleem, has got tickets from NA-117 and PP-149 in Lahore. The ticket for NA-54 (Taxila-Rawalpindi) has been award­ed

to Ghulam Sarwar Khan. Both are a part of the seat adjustment agreement with PML-N.

IPP has declared the status of NA-48 Islamabad and NA-128 Lahore as “pending”. Former federal minister Amir Kiyani and Mr Chaudhry are interested in contesting the seats, respectively.

The ticket for NA-133 (Kasur) went to Hashim Dogar. However, the party didn’t field any candidate against Mr Shehbaz on the city’s NA-132 seat.

Nauman Langrial, Rana Nazir Khan and Hamayun Akhtar Khan have been awarded tickets from NA-143 (Sahiwal), NA-79 (Gujranwala) and NA-97 (Faisalabad).

The PML-N has also left the field empty for Mr Langrial.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2024