Electioneering reaches its peak in CB Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Electioneering in five wards of the Cantonment Board (CB) Peshawar is at its peak as only two days are left in the elections, which are scheduled to be held on April 25, Saturday, after a gap of 17 long years.
Last time the local government elections in the cantonment boards had been held in 1998. A total of 43 candidates are trying their luck for five wards of the CBP from different political parties and in independent capacity.
The marketplaces and residential areas of the Peshawar cantonment have been decorated with small banners and placards. The candidates have been actively holding corner meetings and door-to-door visits to muster support of the voters.
Almost all the mainstream political parties except Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) have fielded their candidates for the polls. The Awami National (ANP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) are contesting on all the five wards, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is contesting on four seats, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on three and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on two seats. JUI-F has announced support to the ANP.
A total of 11 candidates are contesting for the Ward-1. Two among them – Mohammad Waris and Major (r) Arshad Mahmood, both independents - have already remained as members of the board.
The real contest is, however, expected between Mohammad Waris (independent) and Syed Tariq Ali Shah of ANP, who joined the competition after the death of his brother Syed Khalid Ali Shah. PTI candidate Imran Khan, Faheem Shah of PML-N and Faheem Haider of PPP are also considered strong candidates.
For the ward-2, six candidates are contesting the polls. They include Mohammad Younas of ANP, Qamar Zaman of PML-N and Sher Afzal Khan from PTI. The remaining three – Ghulam Habib, Irshad Khan, and Munawar Zaman – are independents.
Nine candidates are in the run for the Ward-3. The elderly Mian Mohammad Akhtar of PML-N among them has already served as member of the board, while Mohammad Aqeel of ANP, Sohail Asghar of JI, Yadullah Khan of PPP, Jawad Ahmad of PTI are also contesting for the seat. Ms Rukhsana is the only woman candidate competing on this ward in independent capacity.
Eight candidates are contesting for the Ward-4. Abdur Razzaq is the candidate of ANP, Ghulam Hussain of PTI and Waqar Ahmad of PML-N. The remaining five namely Atif Ejaz Hussain, Dawood Khalil, Imran Khan, Shahzad Rafiq and Waris Khan are independent.
Nine candidates are in the contest for the Ward-5. Four among them have been nominated by political parties. They include Atif Ali Khan of JI, Khalid Syed of PTI, Naeem Bakhsh of PPP and Obaid Hussain of ANP. A woman candidate Rashida Kausar is also contesting on this seat.
The total number of registered voters in all the five wards is 29,764. Twenty-two polling stations and 62 polling booths have been arranged for balloting. Strict security arrangements would be made for the polls. According to a CBP official, security arrangements have been assigned to the armed forces.
The police have also devised a strategy for maintaining peace on the polling day. According to Mian Saeed, SSP (operation), 10 polling stations in the CBP have been declared sensitive.