ANP faces major blow as Samar Bilour joins PML-N

PESHAWAR
The Awami National Party (ANP) has suffered a significant setback in the provincial capital as Samar Haroon Bilour, former party spokesperson and prominent member of the influential Bilour family, has announced her departure from the ANP to join the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).
Samar Haroon Bilour has previously served as the provincial information secretary for the ANP and was also a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
She was a prominent figure in provincial politics and widely regarded as one of the ANP’s leading female politicians.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad, Samar Haroon Bilour was accompanied by Saeeda Jamshed and Jamshed Mohmand. The meeting was also attended by Advisor to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah, Federal Minister for Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir Affairs and PML-N KP President Engineer Amir Muqam, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, Minister for the Public Affairs Unit Rana Mubashir, and PML-N KP General Secretary Murtaza Javed Abbasi.
Samar Bilour praised the Prime Minister’s leadership, particularly for ensuring economic stability, presenting a people-friendly budget, and steering the country’s economy in the right direction. “I want Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to also follow the path of development modeled after the Federation and Punjab,” she said.
It is pertinent to mention that Samar Haroon Bilour made history in 2018 by winning a by-election and becoming the first woman in 16 years to be elected to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from a general seat in Peshawar.
She served as an active Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) from October 24, 2018, to January 18, 2023.