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Thursday March 28, 2024

Nominations for PPP provincial council trigger criticism

By Syed Bukhar Shah
September 23, 2017

PESHAWAR: Amid opposing voices, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Humayun Khan, in consultation with General Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi, has finalised 13 members for the party’s provincial council.

More members would be named for the council soon, party sources told The News.

The names notified on Thursday were Akram Khan, Riaz Khan Advocate and Kamal Khan Shamakhel from Swat district, Ghani Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Rasool Khan and Sardar
Mohammad Shingrai from Malakand district, Manawarzad Khan from Bannu, Abid Ali Shah Advocate from Mardan, Ijaz Durrani from Haripur, Malik Azmat from Lower Dir, Sheikh Mohammad Aslam and Malik Mushtaq Ahmad from Dera Ismail Khan and Izzat Khan from Lakki Marwat.

The notification, soon after its issuance, triggered criticism from party activists in different districts. Some of the activists opposed to the decision told The News that the provincial president and general secretary had nominated their “blue-eyed” people in the council.

They alleged that most of the members belong to the native areas of the provincial president and general secretary.

One senior member of the party told this correspondent on condition of anonymity that out of the 13 members, seven belonged to Malakand division while four hailed from the southern districts. Several districts have been ignored, he added.

It may be added that the PPP’s provincial President Humayun Khan belongs to Malakand district in Malakand division while General Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi hails from Dera Ismail Khan division.

Another activist of the party said that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had directed the provincial chapter office-bearers to complete organisation of the party at the district level, but his directives could not be implemented despite lapse of three months.

The organisational structure of People’s Students Federation (PSF), People’s Youth Organisation (PYO), and Women Wing were incomplete, he said, adding that the ongoing wrangling among members of the provincial cabinet had become a hurdle in the organisation of the party’s different wings.

Gohar Inqilabi, a member the provincial chapter office-bearer, said names of 13 members of the provincial
council had been notified in the first phase while the members from the remaining districts would be announced soon.

He added that the names were finalised on recommendation of the party units in various districts.

As soon as the provincial cabinet receives recommendations from the remaining districts, more people would be inducted in the provincial council, he said.

He rejected the allegations of wrangling among cabinet members as baseless. He said the district presidents and general secretaries and divisional presidents would be ex-officio members of the provincial council.

He added that presidents and general secretaries for various wings of the party would hopefully be announced in the forthcoming cabinet meeting on September 24.