Nowshera braces for next polls

PESHAWAR: The political parties have started attracting resourceful and electable candidates for national and provincial assemblies' seats in Nowshera district where Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, his team and close relatives would be the main contestants in the upcoming general election.

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has invited applications, and interviewed potential candidates for the award of tickets for the next polls. According to sources in the PTI, hundreds of applications have been submitted for party tickets. Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has focused on his native Nowshera. He is holding public meetings in the district, where his brother Liaqat Khattak is the district nazim, one of his nephews is tehsil nazim and his son-in-law Dr Imran Khattak is Member National Assembly (MNA). Like the last general election, Pervez Khattak would contest for the national and provincial assemblies' seats.

This time he has chosen NA-26 (old NA-6) Nowshera where he would convince Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) head Maulana Samiul Haq to support him. However, the Maulana has been insisting to field Hamidul Haq, who was elected as MNA on the ticket of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in 2002 general election.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) would nominate Zulfiqar Bacha for NA-26 constituency, who contested the 2013 election on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and lost to the PTI's candidate. ANP would withdraw its candidate in support of the MMA against the PTI candidate in this constituency.

Dr Imran Khattak is likely to get party ticket for NA-25 (old NA-5) Nowshera where the ANP had awarded ticket to Jamal Khattak, a young and resourceful member of political family of Manki Sharif.