Ex-governor Iftikhar rebels against PTI

PESHAWAR: Former governor Lt-Gen (Retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has decided to contest the election as an independent candidate from his native Kohat district after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) denied him the ticket for the general election.

A former PTI Member National Assembly (MNA) from Kohat, Sheharyar Afridi, was issued the party ticket. The party leadership had earlier refused him the ticket that had created unrest among the old party workers.

In some areas, the party workers staged protest against decisions of their party leadership and held them responsible of preferring “parachuters” (new entrants to the party) to the old and sincere workers in the ticket allotment.

Iftikhar Hussain Shah had joined the PTI and applied for the party ticket to contest the election. He was hopeful of getting the ticket.

?The PTI leadership had delayed ticket distribution in some of the areas due to differences among party workers and Kohat was one among those areas.

According to sources in the PTI, the former governor decided to contest the election as an independent candidate from both seats, NA-32 and PK-82? Kohat after he was refused the party ticket.

Iftikhar Hussain Shah was governor during the military rule of General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf.

The PTI leadership also had a second thought and awarded tickets to Shaukat Yousafzai and Sheharyar Afridi, but the party sources said another former MNA Ali Mohammad Khan may not get the PTI ticket to contest election from his hometown in Mardan.