He was defeated by Abdul Haq in the 1970 general election, however following a crackdown against the Party by the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Ajmal Khattak fled into exile to Kabul. He returned in 1989 and was elected in 1990 to the National Assembly of Pakistan, he was then elected President of the Awami National Party following the retirement of Wali Khan.[1] Following a power struggle in 2000, he briefly formed a breakaway party which was routed in the 2002 election. He rejoined the Awami National Party shortly afterwards and retired from active politics.