Tough contest expected in Hangu

HANGU: A tough contest is expected on one national and two provincial assembly seats in Hangu district.

The National Assembly (NA) seat was won by Khayal Zaman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the last general election.

About 56 candidates have filed nomination papers with returning officer (RO) for one national and two provincial seats in Hangu.

Around 15 candidates have submitted nomination papers for the only National Assembly seat in Hangu. The religio-political parties have a solid vote-bank in NA-33 previously NA-16.

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA)’s Akhunzada Muhammad Sadiq won the seat in 2002 general election. Haider Ali Shah of Awami National Party won this seat in the 2008 general election.

Khayal Zaman, who was the PTI ticket holder, was declared the winner in the 2013 general election. For the provincial assembly seat PK-83, a total of 21 candidates have filed nomination papers.

Former Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Shah Faisal Khan of PTI, Syed Hussain Ali Shah of Awami National Party (ANP), Dr Ulfat Hussain of Pakistan People’s Party and Mufti Obaidullah are the prominent candidates who are in the run. The rest are mostly independents.

Zahoor Shakir of PTI, Irshad Nabi of ANP, and Jahanzeb Jasam of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl will run for PK-84. Traditionally, there has been a fierce contest between MMA, ANP and PTI candidates in Hangu.