Rift in ANP over distribution of tickets

PESHAWAR: Unlike the past, the Awami National Party (ANP) is facing differences as some of its disgruntled leaders are going to contest elections against the party candidates in the provincial capital.

There are five National Assembly and 13 provincial assembly constituencies in Peshawar district where the Pakhtun nationalist party has fielded candidates for all National Assembly seats except for NA-28. The ANP has also put up candidates against all provincial assembly constituencies in Peshawar for the February 8 general election.

The ANP even changed its candidate for PK-73 Peshawar where former woman MPA Shagufta Malik was awarded a ticket but later the ticket was given to Sibghatullah Khan. Peshawar is considered one of the strongholds of the ANP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The party has awarded tickets to former MPA and provincial vice- president of ANP Saqibullah Khan Chamkani for NA-29, Arbab Zain Umar for NA-30, Pir Haroon Shah for NA-31 and Ghulam Ahmad Bilour for NA-32.

However, the ANP candidate on NA-32 Peshawar will face his old party leader Abidullah Yousafzai and Sher Rehman. Abidullah Yousafzai will contest from the platform of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) while Sher Rehman, who was ANP candidate for Peshawar mayor in last local bodies elections, had joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and will contest elections on its ticket.

Another local leader and main supporter of Bilour family, Malik Tariq Awan is contesting for PK-82 in independent capacity and he will affect the party votes in the NA-32 constituency in Peshawar. Another stalwart and former nazim Mohammad Umar has joined the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl and the party awarded him ticket for PK-83 against the ANP candidate Samar Haroon Bilour, who is former MPA and widow of Haroon Bilour.

Another ANP activist Malik Naushad has also quit the party and will now contest for the provincial assembly seat in Peshawar on the JUI-F ticket. Former candidate for NA-28 Peshawar Arbab Tahir Nadim Khan has also quit the nationalist party and joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf before the local bodies polls who is now actively running election campaign for PTI candidate Arbab Amir Ayub and Malik Shahab in his locality.

The difference emerged in the Pakhtun nationalist party soon after ticket distribution a few months back when the party ignored some of its old activists and awarded tickets to young and newcomers.

The political observers believed that the ANP was still one of the popular political parties in Peshawar where it might give a tough time to the candidates of PTI, JUIF, JI and PPP. However, they said that many of the local leaders of the ANP were impressed by the development works executed by Peshawar Mayor Zubair Ali, son of Governor Ghulam Ali, who was elected on JUIF ticket in the last local government election.

Provincial spokesperson for the ANP and a candidate for PK-83 Peshawar, Samar Haroon Bilour, said there were no differences in the party but those who were denied party tickets had either joined other political parties or would contest in independent capacity.

She said that the ANP parliamentary board had awarded tickets to the present candidates after a thorough scrutiny and the party workers would fully support those who were contesting under the ANP banner and manifesto.

Samar Haroon Bilour said that the ANP was an ideological party and its workers did not consider individuals but party cause and manifesto, hoping that the ANP would sweep the upcoming polls in the Peshawar district.