From hotel attendant to legislator: Gul Zafar trounces influential politicians in Pakistan’s tribal area

Gul Zafar Khan, who worked his way up from hotel waiter to legislator, addresses a public gathering in Bajaur Agency where he defeated influential politicians. (Photo courtesy: Gul Zafar Khan/Facebook)

• Gul Zafar Khan has emerged as one of the legislators in Pakistan’s July 25 polls who broke the decades-old tradition of only powerful candidates winning in the area
• The MNA-elect collected more than PKR2 million ($16 million) from expats in Saudi Arabia and UAE to run his election campaign

ISLAMABAD: Gul Zafar Khan has emerged as one of the legislators in Pakistan’s July 25 polls who not only defeated his influential rivals and tribal elders through dedication and struggle, but also broke the decades-old tradition of only powerful candidates winning in the area.
“I stood by my people through thick and thin since 2013 and in this election, I think, it was a payback time for me,” Khan, a member National Assembly-elect from war-ravaged Bajaur Agency in the tribal areas, told Arab News.
Khan comes from a lower middle-class family in the tribal area, bordering Afghanistan’s Kunar province and once believed to be hub of militant outfits. “I used to work as a waiter at a hotel in Rawalpindi and it never occurred to me that one day I could be a member of parliament,” he said.
“It is a proud moment for me and my people that I have become a legislator from a hotel attendant,” he said.
When Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came into limelight after one of its impressive public gatherings in Lahore in October 2011, Imran Khan’s speeches and the party songs motivated Gul Zafar Khan to enter politics.
“Tribal elders and the influential people of my area were shocked when they came to know that Imran Khan had awarded me the ticket for the 2018 election,” he said. “They all made fun of me in their speeches, saying that I cannot get over 1,000 votes.”
Recalling his election strategy, he said he first appealed to youngsters of the area who had been working in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as laborers for funds. He then formed 200 teams each, comprising four persons for the election campaign.
“I received over two million rupees from overseas Pakistanis for my election campaign,” he said. “The party also helped me financially to run my campaign against my billionaire rivals. So money was not a problem for me.”
Khan, during his election campaign, promised his constituents to work for the establishment of schools, colleges and hospitals in the area. “The Taliban destroyed our schools and hospitals during the war on terror and it is my mission to rebuild them all to facilitate my people,” he said.
The MNA-elect himself is just a high-school graduate, but vows to work for the establishment of a university, girls’ college and technical college in the area. He will take oath of his seat on Monday.
In the conservative area where women are not usually allowed to cast their votes, the PTI leader also succeeded in bringing them to the polling stations on election day.
“For the first time, over 25,000 women out of total 95,000 registered female voters cast their vote in the constituency,” he said. “I am sure the majority of the women polled me their vote because I have been raising my voice for their rights.”
This general election in Pakistan pulled up a fair share of surprise results in many constituencies from South Punjab to tribal areas and from interior Sindh to urban areas of the country. Many political heavyweights are trounced by young new entrants owing to their hard work and their respective parties’ vote bank.
Professor Tahir Malik, political analyst and academic, said that results of different constituencies across Pakistan show that people are getting fed up with old faces of feudal lords and so-called electable candidates.
“People have voted for young, educated and vibrant candidates in numerous constituencies, though only a few could make it to the finishing line in this election,” he told Arab News.
“This trend also depicts a lesson for political parties that if they trust their middle-class and lower-middle-class workers, award them tickets, they too can win the election.”