M A I N   N E W S

Big names bite the dust

Islamabad, May 12
Many stalwarts of Pakistani politics, including ex-Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, bit the dust in the polls that saw a large number of people exercising their vote for a historic democratic transition.

The biggest upset was of PPP’s Ashraf, who suffered a humiliating defeat in Rawalpindi-II (National Assembly-51), Geo News reported.

As per unofficial and initial results, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Raja Mohammad Javed Ikhlas won the seat.

Other top leaders of the PPP also lost their seats. Those who were defeated included former information ministers Qamar Zaman Kaira and Firdous Ashiq Awan, Punjab president of PPP Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, former Public Account Committee chairman Nadeem Afzal Gondal, and Bushra Aitzaz, the wife of barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan.

PPP’s central leader and former federal minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal and Tasleem Qureshi were also among the losers. Similarly, Gilani’s both sons, Ali Musa Gilani and Abdul Qadir Gilani, lost in polls from their Multan constituencies. Abdul was kidnapped by suspected Taliban terrorists last week while he was campaigning.

In a shocking result, Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan suffered an upset defeat in Charsadda’s NA-7 constituency at the hands of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl candidate Maulana M Gohar Shah who won with 53,492 votes.

Chaudhry Anwar Ali Cheema, a veteran politician who has been winning elections since 1985, ran out of luck this time.

Contesting on PML-Q ticket, Cheema lost the 2013 elections to PML-N candidate Zulfikar Ali Bhatti.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, in a setback, lost from a Lahore constituency against PML-N candidate Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. Khan’s loss in Lahore was seen as a major upset and a psychological defeat for the party.

However, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) chief won from Mianwali in Punjab province, Peshawar and Rawalpindi. Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi of PTI lost from Umerkot, Sindh, to PPP’s Nawab Yousuf Talpur. He also lost the polls from a Multan constituency.

PML-N heavyweight Liaquat Jatoi was also defeated in the polls. — PTI