Rehan Zeb Khan: Murdered election candidate not from PTI

BAJAUR: Slain independent candidate Rehan Zeb Khan, who was gunned down in Bajaur today, was not contesting elections on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ticket, it was revealed on Wednesday.

Rehan Zeb Khan – who was contesting from NA-8 and PK-22 in Bajaur – was canvassing in the area when unidentified assailants opened fire on his vehicle, leaving him dead on the spot. Four other people were also injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the election candidate wasn’t affiliated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as the party did not award him the tickets for national and provincial assemblies seat.

The Imran Khan-led party had awarded tickets to Gul Zafar Khan from NA-8 and Gul Dad Khan from PK 22. Rehan Zeb Khan had raised questions on PTI’s “unfair” ticket distribution on social media.

The slain candidate had also pointed out the corruption of PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in his last tweet on January 12. He was facing criticism from PTI-affiliated accounts on social media for a past few days.

اسلام علیکم پی ٹی آئی فیملی ( پاکستان کے اندر باہر سب)۔ اس ٹویٹ کو غور سے پڑھے اور سمجھنے کی کوشش کریں، میں صرف اپنا خوف اور نقطہ نظر شیئر کرہا ہوں، مانے یا نہ مانے اپکے مرضی ہے۔

ہم نے عمران خان کو دیکھ کر پرویز خٹک بھی پختونخواہ کا بادشاہ بنایا تھا، ہم نے عمران خان کو دیکھ…

— Rehan Zeb Khan (@RehanZeb21) January 12, 2024

PTI’s official Twitter handle also distorted the facts regarding issuance of ticket to the candidate. Following his killing, PTI declared Rehan as its candidate through its official Twitter account.

In contrast, Rehan Zeb Khan was contesting as an independent candidate against PTI’s official ticket holders.

Sources told ARY News that Rehan Zeb was returning from the native area of candidate Gul Zafar Khan at the time of the killing.

Polls in NA-8 postponed

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed elections in Bajaur’s NA-8 and PK-22 after independent candidate Rehan Zeb Khan was killed in the Siddiqabad area of Bajaur.

The notification to postpone the polls on the National Assembly’s NA-8 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s PK-8 has been issued by the ECP.

Rehan Zeb Khan was not a PTI backed candidate