Pakistan election results 2024: Will Imran Khan’s PTI sweep Khyber Pakhtunkhwa again?

Pakistan election results have everyone on the edge of their seats. Independents backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan have won 62 seats out of the 156 National Assembly results announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as of late Friday (9 February) afternoon. Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has bagged 46 seats, while the Pakistan People’s Party of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has secured 39 seats. As Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party springs a surprise with the results, it may also script history by winning the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province thrice in a row. Let’s take a closer look. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa results 2024 The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has 115 general seats, 26 reserved for women and four for non-Muslims. The province bordering Afghanistan has 45 National Assembly (NA) seats. According to the latest ECP results for 50 constituencies of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 45 have been swept by PTI-backed independent candidates. The PTI-backed contenders are also surging in NA seats from the northwestern province. PTI leader Gohar Ali Khan bagged NA-10 in the Buner area with 110,023 votes, according to the ECP. He routed Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Abdul Rauf who secured 30,302 votes. PTI’s former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaisar has also won. [caption id=“attachment_13709802” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Supporters of imprisoned Pakistan’s Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party block a road as a protest against the delaying result of parliamentary election by Pakistan Election Commission, in Lahore, 9 February 2024. AP[/caption] According to The Express Tribune report, Khan’s party is staring at a resounding victory in the province. PTI-backed candidates including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, former federal ministers Shaheryar Afridi, Ali Muhammad Khan, Ali Amin Gandapur and others are expected to be triumphant. Shandana Gulzar, whose father – Gulzar Khan – had won the 2013 general elections from Peshawar on a PTI ticket, is likely to retain his seat. Another PTI-backed independent Mian Jamshed Kakakhel could be victorious in Nowshera, The Express Tribune reported citing unofficial, unverified preliminary results. PTI’s rivals appear to be looking at defeat in the province. PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif, ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan, JUI-F chief Fazl, and his two sons, QWP chief Sherpao and his son Sikandar, and JI Amir Sirajul Haq are likely to lose their seats. Several other political heavyweights standing against PTI might also be defeated, as per the report. Geo TV report says that PTI-supported contenders have won 55 KP Assembly seats, while PML-N has managed to win three and other independent candidates have secured four. 2013 and 2018 KPK results Imran Khan’s PTI came to power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2013, trouncing the Awami National Party. The PTI won nine out of the 13 NA seats in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, comprising Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera and Charsadda. It also won the provincial assembly elections in Peshawar, bagging 10 out of 11 seats. In Nowshera and Mardan, PTI secured five seats each. In Charsadda, Khan’s party won only one out of six provincial assembly seats. In Swabi, the Tarakai family won two seats and later merged with the PTI, reported Dawn. In 2018, PTI resounded to victory in not only the general elections but also returned to form the government in KPK. [caption id=“attachment_13709812” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] PTI’s Imran Khan, along with the members of the media, looks on during the unveiling ceremony of the Buddhist-period archeological site near Haripur, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, Pakistan, 15 November 2017. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Cricketer-turned-politician Khan won a National Assembly seat from Bannu in southern KPK, while all other party heads – Bilawal Bhutto, Shehbaz Sharif, Asfandyar Wali Khan, Aftab Sherpao, Sirajul Haq and Maulana Fazlur Rehman – lost general elections in the province, noted The Express Tribune. Khan’s party won 12 out of 13 NA seats from central KP in 2018. The PTI also emerged as the single largest party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 66 provincial assembly seats. With this, the province defied its riwaz of not re-electing the incumbent. ALSO READ: Pakistan polls: How PTI-backed 'Independents' could be a gamechanger Why KPK is significant Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s closeness to Afghanistan and the adjacent Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, which is a hotbed of militant activities, makes the province difficult to govern, as per Deutsche Welle (DW). The Islamic extremism in the area further worsens the security situation in the province. On the day of the polling on Thursday (8 February), five policemen were killed in a bomb blast and firing on a patrol in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. With the Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants have once again come to haunt Pakistan. Attacks on security personnel have increased in the region since 2022. KPK is also an important province as it has the third-largest provincial economy in Pakistan, contributing 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and 20 per cent in mining output, as per the province’s website. Khan’s party had vowed to end corruption in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after coming to power in 2013. Now, the PTI leader is himself behind bars on corruption charges. Will his party form a government for a third consecutive term in KPK? We will have to wait a bit to find out. With inputs from agencies