Zahid Khan, a former spokesman and senior politician with the Awami National Party (ANP), has opted to leave the party for the Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Khan will officially join the PML-N this Sunday, announcing his decision during a press conference with Engineer Amir Muqam, the Federal Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs.
Having twice held the position of Senator between 1997 and 2003, and again from 2009 to 2015, Khan was a significant member of various Senate Committees, including Communications, Information Technology & Telecommunication, and Parliamentary Affairs, and he chaired the Senate Committee on Water and Power.
In September, Khan expressed intentions to retire from politics, citing an increasingly monetized political environment as incompatible with his values, emphasizing his desire to avoid profiteering from political engagement. He also mentioned feeling marginalized from the party leadership’s agenda.
It should also be noted that another central ANP figure, Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, recently withdrew from electoral politics.
The veteran politician, who experienced three consecutive electoral defeats in Peshawar, has decided to relocate to Islamabad. Following personal tragedies, including the loss of his brother Bashir Bilour and nephew Haroon Bilour to militant attacks, and being wrongly declared the loser in four elections, he has declared his disinterest in continuing his political career.
