RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has elected its diehard jiyala, Bahramand Khan Tangi to the Senate, upper house of the parliament as other political parties have mostly banked on billionaire-millionaire candidates.

For eleven seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a total of 24 candidates were in the run and the highest number was fielded by the ruling PTI and PPP, which has the strength of only six legislators in KP Assembly flouted three candidates. Out of the three contesting candidate of PPP, two managed to enter the Senate.

Tangi hails from Tangi Town of district Charsadda belongs to a middle class family and has been affiliated with PPP since he was a college student. He is the younger brother of late Bashir Khan Tangi, who was died in Liaquat Bagh suicide bombing-firing attack on Benazir Bhutto.

The second Senate seat clinched by PPP is Robina Khalid, the widow of Khalid Rauf, a renowned TV drama artiste, writer and film producer. The versatile personality of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was killed in a road accident. She is the daughter of the late PPP MNA Syed Zafar Ali Shah and sister of PPP stalwart Syed Zahir Ali Shah.

Syed Zahir Ali was provincial minister for health during ANP-PPP coalition government from 2008-2013. Zahir Ali Shah had also remained president PPP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

On the other hand PTI, which have fielded Khiyal Zaman Orakzai, a sitting MNA and billionaire failed to win the upper house seat while the fate of a top religious cleric, Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, who was a PTI-backed independent candidate, was also defeated.

JUI-F, which enjoys the support of 16 MPAs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly failed to elect its provincial chief, Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan while its wealthy Talha Mahmood managed his re-election to the Senate.

Similarly, Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, a close aid of the Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao of the QWP lost despite the support of PTI while Shagufta Malik a devoted middle-class worker of the ANP also failed to get birth in the upper house of the parliament.

The successful PTI and PML-N candidates included Pir Sabir Shah, a former chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and certified loyalist of Sharif brothers while his second colleague Dilawar Khan, who has been elected on technocrat-reserved seat is a businessman.

The ruling PTI have fielded revering Azam Khan Swati, Ayub Afridi, Fida Mohammad Khan and Faisal Javed while Meher Taj Roghani was elected on women-reserved seat. Meher Taj Roghani is the Deputy Speaker of KP Assembly while Faisal Javed is a close-confident of PTI chief Imran and always found on stage in PTI rallies and used to chant slogans in favour of his party leader.