PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers said that Ghazanfar Bilour, nephew of the Awami National Party’s (ANP) senior leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has joined the ruling party. The PTI workers believe that it will dent the nationalist party, but, the ANP declared him ‘apolitical’ having no affiliation with the party.
Ghazanfar is the son of ANP leader and former Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour and nephew late Bashir Ahmed Bilour. He has called on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and according to PTI, he expressed confidence in Imran Khan’s leadership although he has not yet issued any statement in this regard.
During his meeting with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, KP Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and minister for Higher Education Kamran Bangash were also present. According to political analysts, the Ghazanfar’s departure from the ANP ahead of the local government election on 19 December will benefit the ruling party in the election.
“Ghazanfar Bilour is apolitical. He did not hold any important position in the ANP nor was he given any responsibility. The ruling party is deceiving itself by sharing such pictures,” Sumar Haroon Bilour said in a Twitter post. However, Kamran Bangash reminded her that Ghazanfar has contested 2013 general election for KP assembly seat on the ANP ticket and had security considerable number of votes.
Though the PTI workers consider it a big dent to ANP in Peshawar, the ANP workers were of the view that it will have not effects on the party in Peshawar. Member Central Executive Committee of Awami National Party, Khan Zaman Kakar wrote, “I just got to know that there is also a man named Ghazanfar in Bilour family and wondered that he could make a big dent in ANP in Peshawar. It has been a norm in the history that the Sarkar tries to bring out such people from the families of its influential political rivals.”
Ghazanfar’s father, Ilyas Bilour, is leading the United Business Group (UBG) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In December, 2017, Ghazanfar Bilour was elected a president of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) of 2018. He had defeated senior leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) Haji Ghulam Ali by 64 votes.