Salim Saifullah withdraws from election race

LAKKI MARWAT: Former federal minister and head of Marwat Ittehad Group (MIG) Salim Saifullah Khan, who had earlier announced to contest election as independent candidate for NA-36, has now decided to withdraw from election race and let the field open for young aspirants.

The decision was taken in a bid to keep the alliance between Marwat Ittehad Group and PTI intact and let the new faces try their luck in electoral politics. The local PTI office-bearers had opposed supporting Salim Saifullah as independent candidate for the National Assembly constituency.

“If Salim Saifullah wants to win elections with the support of PTI workers, he will have to jump into polls arena with PTI ticket,” said a local PTI leader. He added that the local leadership was not happy over electoral alliance with MIG and supporting Saifullah as independent candidate in upcoming elections.“We will press the high command of the party to field its own candidate for NA-36 or ask Salim Saifullah to be the contender of PTI for the National Assembly constituency,” he added.

A source close to Saifullah said that the former federal minister Salim Saifullah had convened a meeting of area elders, PTI office-bearers, local bodies’ members and supporters at his residence in Ghaznikhel to discuss the election strategy for upcoming national elections.

Former MNAs Humayun Saifullah Khan, former federal minister Anwar Saifullah Khan and political elite of the district attended the meeting. PPP central executive committee member and former federal minister Anwar Saifullah Khan and former MNA Humayun Saifullah Khan are also not in the race for the national or provincial assembly seats.

The influential Saifullah family is also not in a mood to field its young members including former Senator Osman Saifullah Khan and Jehangir Saifullah Khan in polls arena.“During a meeting, Salim Saifullah Khan expressed his desire to bring new and young faces for NA-36 on PTI ticket,” according to a source, saying that Saifullah brothers would finalise the name of contender for National Assembly seat in the coming couple of days.

The source said that influential Saifullahs would pick one among two powerful aspirants including former district nazim Ishfaq Ahmad Khan Meenakhel and Barrister Sher Afzal Khan to fight for the sole National Assembly seat on a PTI ticket.