All eyes are on the two national assembly’s constituencies of Nowshera district for the general election 2024 where tough electoral battle is expected among political stalwarts.
The candidates of all mainstream political parties blew up horns after their nomination papers were accepted for two national and five provincial assembly seats in the politically fertile Nowshera district.
Pakistan Tahrik e Insaf Parliamentarian (PTI) Chairman and former Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khan Khattak, Pakistan Muslim League-N Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Secretary and former member provincial assembly, Ikhtair Wali Khan, Awami National Party’s Khan Pervez, Barrister Sarwar and Mustafa Anwar of Pakistan Tahrik e Insaf and Ijazul Haq of Jamiat Ulema Islam-F are eying for NA-33 Nowshera-I.
A unique phenomenon of the 2024 General Election is the participation of all family members of PTIP Chief, Pervez Khattak including his son-in-law Dr Imran Khattak and his sons whose nomination papers were accepted for all the national and provincial assemblies’ seats.
Nowshera is the home district of Pervez Khattak who filed nomination papers for NA-33, PK-87 and PK-88 while nomination papers of his nephew and son-in-law Dr Imran Khattak were accepted for NA-34 and PK-89 respectively.
Pervez Khattak’s sons Ibrahim Khattak and Ismail Khattak submitted nomination papers for PK-85 and PK-86, respectively. Former KP Information Minister and Awami National Party leader, Mian Iftikhar Hussain are eying on PK-89 while PMLN’s Ikhtiyar Wali filed nomination papers for NA-33 and PK-88.
Awami National Party’s Khan Pervez, Barrister Sarwar Khan and Mustafa Anwar of PTI, Fayyazur Rahman of PMLN, Mufti Shakatullah and Ijazul Haq of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and independents nomination papers for NA-33 Nowshera-I were accepted.
Major-Gen (r) Saad Khattak of Aam Admi Party, Mian Babar Shah of ANP, Mian Khaliqur Rahman, Haji Akbar, Daud Khattak of PTI, Shaiq Amin of Tehreek-e-Labbaik, Hamza Pervez of PMLN, Alhaj Pervez Khan of JUIF, Idrees Khattak of PPP and others filed papers for NA-34 Nowshera-II and others provincial constituencies.
NA-33 Nowshera-I was previously won by PTI’s Siraj Muhammad Khan in 2013 general election after securing 54,266 votes against Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah of PMLN’s with 34,537 votes while in 2018 general election this constituency was clinched by Pervez Khattak who contested on PTI ticket with 82,118 votes against Khan Pervez of PPP with 35,658 votes.
Pervez Khattak was also elected from NA-34 Nowshera-II on the ticket of PTI in 2013 general election after securing 70,053 votes against runnerup Daud Khan Khattak of ANP with 21,493 votes.
Later, Pervez Khattak resigned from NA-34 and retained NA-33 Nowshera-I. Later, his son-in-law Dr Imran Khattak won NA-34 in by-election after securing 48,043 votes against Daud Khattak of ANP’s with 27,569 votes.
In the 2018 General Election, this constituency was again won by Dr. Imran Khattak who contested on PTI’s ticket after securing 90,256 votes against Jamal Khattak of ANP’s with 47,132 votes. The total registered voters in NA-34-Nowshera-II are 377,306.
“All political parties enjoy equal opportunities to win in the 2024 general election in Nowshera. However, political parties’ manifestos, voters especially young and female voters’ turnout and strong baradaris would play a crucial role in deciding the fate of these candidates,” said former Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali Malik of Political Science Department, Govt College Nowshera while talking to APP.
“The main problem of the area’s people here are unemployment, flood vulnerability being located directly on River Kabul, lack of clean drinking water and adequate housing facilities,” he said, adding any party with a solid program for resolution of these issues would get an edge over others on D-Day.
NA-33-Nowshera-I constituencies comprises on Akora Khattak, Jaghangira, Pirsabaq, Risalpur, Nowshera Kalan, Nizampur, Manki Sharif, Misri Banda, Mera Akora Khattak, Adamzai and Inzari where literacy ratio is relatively higher compared to NA-34 Nowshara-II with key areas of Pabbi, Akbarpura, Charat, Amankot, Mohib Banda, Khesgi Payan, Saleh Khana and Shah Kot.
“I eagerly await the February 8, 2024 general election. I will vote for that political party having sold a program for the resolution of Nowshera’s core issues,” said Riazul Haq, a former PST teacher and resident of Mohib Banda while talking to APP.
“The 2022 floods in River Kabul have badly affected the groundwater table of my village and most of the residents were bringing water from tehsil Pabbi after covering five kilometres distance every day,” he said, adding ‘we need clean drinking water and technical education institute in our area for our children and families.”
“Most of the youth after visiting abroad spend months to get driving licenses and their parents suffer financially for a long time,” he said, adding the lack of schools and colleges in his village despite the over one lakh population added to our difficulties.
He said the five-kilometre-long Mohib Banda-Amankot road was in shambles and hours were being wasted due to dozens of speed breakers. “I would demand all the political parties to construct an alternative road for their village if voted to power.”
