Son of Shuja Khanzada wins Attock by-poll

ATTOCK: Jahangir Khanzada – the son of slain Punjab home minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada – won the by-election for Punjab Assembly’s PP-16 (Attock-II) constituency here on Tuesday.

According to unofficial and unconfirmed results of all 137 polling stations, Jahangir, who was contesting on a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket, secured 44,286 votes. His main opponent Dr Mohammad Naeem Awan, an independent candidate, only managed to bag 4,371 votes.

Number of votes cast for Jahangir is higher than what his martyred father secured in the 2013 election.

The provincial assembly’s seat had left vacant after the assassination of the former Punjab home minister in a suicide bombing in his native village in the district. At least 18 others were also killed in the deadly attack on August 16.

Polling began at 8:00AM and continued until 5:00PM under the watch of Rangers and military personnel.

As per the Election commission of Pakistan's (ECP) orders, polling was carried out under strict security, with army and Rangers personnel deployed both inside and outside the 137 polling stations. 51 polling stations had been set up for men and 44 for women with 42 combined polling stations.