The months leading up to the Feb 8 general elections witnessed crucial developments in the country’s political sphere — the return of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif after a four-year exile, the incarceration of PTI founder Imran Khan and the subsequent dismantling of his party.

The developments were followed by the withdrawal of the PTI’s ‘bat’ electoral symbol, which has resulted in candidates contesting the polls as independents and the party losing out on reserved seats.

With the February 8 elections just a day away, political activity in the country has reached fever pitch after a sluggish start. Campaigning ceased yesterday at midnight. For seasoned politicians, the election season is business as usual.

However, due to the PTI’s predicament, there have emerged a number of unexpected candidates contesting this year’s polls as the party tries to circumvent the obstacles in its path.

Dawn.com takes a look at five such candidates contesting the much-delayed general election, all of them independent candidates affiliated with the PTI.

Mian Azhar

Earlier in January, while there was uncertainty surrounding the ‘bat’, the PTI issued tickets to the family members of those leaders not contesting from their previous constituencies.

This included a ticket going to Mian Azhar, the father of prominent PTI leader Hammad Azhar. He was awarded a party ticket in place of his son for NA-129 (Lahore X-III). At 82-years-old, the octogenarian is perhaps among the oldest candidates contesting the polls but is no stranger to Pakistani politics.

A former Punjab governor, Lahore mayor and the founding president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, Mian Azhar had joined the PTI in 2011. The elderly politician was also not spared following the crackdown on the PTI in the aftermath of the violent events of May 9.

Last May, the PTI had alleged that Hammad’s house was raided. It had said Mian Azhar was threatened, and a warning was given that his daughter would be “whisked away” if his son didn’t surrender for arrest.

Then in June, Hammad had said his father was picked up by police and “unknown people” and taken to an undisclosed location. He had later said his father had returned safely after being taken to a police station, where they had gone through his phone for an hour.

In December, Mian Azhar had filed a writ petition before the Lahore High Court seeking details of cases registered against his son and against the alleged harassment by the caretaker government and its different agencies.

He had said that he and his family were being harassed and humiliated by the authorities in order to restrain them from running the election campaign.

In January, Mian Azhar was also taken into custody in Lahore only to be released after a few hours as police launched a crackdown on PTI-affiliated candidates and supporters that took to the streets on Imran’s call.

Constituency: NA-129

Electoral symbol: Cricket stumps

Rehana Imtiaz Dar

A housewife until recently, Rehana Imtiaz Dar, the mother of former PTI leader Usman Dar, is contesting the polls for the first time.

She recently came into the political spotlight after she accused PML-N stalwart Khawaja Asif and Sialkot police of orchestrating a raid on her home and mistreating her. Asif and the Sialkot police had denied the allegations.

She later alleged that her other son Umar was picked up from Lahore in a bid to harm her chances in the polls.

Since then, she has remained in the spotlight, releasing several video statements challenging Asif — who she is contesting against in NA-71 — and expressing her determination to give him a tough competition in the upcoming polls.

She has alleged that after the violent events of May 9, her sons were kidnapped and tortured at the behest of the PML-N leader, which was why she decided to take on the former minister.

It should be mentioned that in 2018, Usman had lost to Asif by a margin of a few thousand votes. Usman had quit politics in October after denouncing the violent events of May 9.

Constituency: NA-71, PP-46

Electoral symbol: Baby cot

Meher Bano Qureshi

Meher Bano Qureshi is the daughter of ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and is contesting from NA-151 as a PTI-affiliated candidate. While her brother Zain may be the more politically experienced of the two, she is no stranger to an electoral contest.

She had contested the NA-157 by-election in Aug 2022 which she lost to PPP’s Ali Musa Gilani. At the time, her candidature had provoked agitation among PTI workers who had raised objections saying that Qureshi and his family were promoting dynastic politics in the party.

The ex-foreign minister had defended the decision, saying that his daughter was an educated girl, adding she that she was involved in the field of journalism and could “present her case properly”.

Over the past few months, she has been vocal with her criticism of the cases against her father and PTI founder Imran Khan and has urged PTI supporters to stand by the leadership.

Constituency: NA-151

Electoral symbol: Tongs

Umair Khan Niazi

In Mianwali, the hometown of party founder Imran, the PTI is fielding one of its brightest young prospects — Barrister Umair Khan Niazi.

Until 2022, Barrister Umair Khan Niazi had been silently working behind the scenes for nine years as part of the party’s legal team. However, the legal troubles of Imran and his party pulled him into the limelight.

Now, Niazi is the party’s primary candidate from NA-90, while his sister Laamia Khan Niazi and father Advocate Ziaullah Khan Niazi are both covering candidates.

Having served as an additional advocate general in Punjab until May 2022, Niazi is currently the PTI additional general secretary and a focal person to Imran Khan on legal affairs.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Niazi said he had strived to get a party ticket in the previous general elections but was unsuccessful.

“This time, Imran Khan referred to me as his choice and approved my candidacy,” he said.

Constituency: NA-90

Electoral symbol: Door

Sher Afzal Marwat

PTI’s Sher Afzal Marwat, another lawyer, is also contesting the polls for the first time.

In November, he had emerged as a key leader of the former ruling party after he was appointed as a senior vice president, with immediate effect.

Marwat had been a member of the PTI for a long time, but came to the limelight only after the former ruling par­ty found itself in crisis following the events of May 9, which for­c­­ed party’s key leadership to ei­­ther to part ways with Imran, or go underground to avo­id the heat. He also became close to Imran after representing the ex-premier in most of the cases against him.

Marwat also represented Imran in the Toshakhana case, where the court convicted the former premier for three years. His proximity to Imran only grew when he launched a tirade against trial court judge Humayun Dilawar during the proceedings of the Toshakhana trial, and he was subsequently inducted into the PTI core committee.

However, the firebrand leader has also courted controversy over the past few months. Last year in September, he got into a spat with two senior PTI leaders, exposing the shortcomings of the legal wing of the former ruling party.

Then in November, the PTI had denied a statement by Marwat, who had claimed that Imran would not contest the intra-party polls for the slot of party chairman and that he had picked someone to contest in his stead. The party had later announced that Imran had picked Barrister Gohar Khan to run in his stead.

In January, Marwat called off his election campaign after being disowned by senior PTI leaders Raoof Hasan and Barrister Hamid Khan, only to make a U-turn the very same day. He was subsequently stopped from taking part in political activities on Imran’s directives, but was later given permission by the party.

Constituency: NA-41

Electoral symbol: Flamingo