KP Assembly polls in tribal districts

PESHAWAR: Amid uncertainty surrounding the July 2 provincial assembly elections in the erstwhile Fata due to pending legislation, a total of 297 people are in the field to contest 16 general seats.

The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday issued final list of 297 candidates for 16 general seats in erstwhile Fata. A total of 122 candidates have withdrawn their nomination papers.

According to the final list, 12 candidates are in the run for the general seat in PK-100 Bajaur-I, 15 for PK-101 Bajaur-II, 12 for PK-102 Bajaur-III constituencies, 14 for PK-103 Mohmand-I, 18 for PK-104 Mohmand-II, 22 for PK-105 Khyber-1, 19 for PK-106 Khyber-II, 31 for PK-108 Kurram-I, 22 for PK-109 Kurram-II, 24 for PK-110 Orakzai, 19 for PK-111 North Waziristan-I, 20 for PK-112 North Waziristan-II, 20 for PK-113 South Waziristan-I, 21 for PK-114 South Waziristan-II and 10 are in the run for PK-115 for ex-frontier regions.

Under the Constitution (Twenty Fifth Amendment) Act, 2018, the provincial assembly’s elections in the merged tribal districts have to be held within a year of the holding of the 2018 general elections.

On May 13, the National Assembly passed the Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019, which provided for increasing the provincial assembly seats for former Fata, including 24 general seats and six seats reserved for women and one for non-Muslims.

The bill now awaits passage by the Senate. If it is passed, then the Election Commission of Pakistan will be bound to hold the provincial assembly polls in the former Fata within 18 months of the 2018 general elections.

Meanwhile, the ECP has announced that the last date for receiving applications for postal ballots for government servants and people with disability is June 20 and for that of polling staff June 24.

The first ever election for 16 general seats of provincial assembly would be held on July 2.

BoK signs agreement for core banking & digital platform solutions

The Bank of Khyber has signed an agreement with Temenos and NdcTech for core banking and digital platform solutions.

Under this agreement, Temenos & NdcTech will provide core banking & digital solutions at the bank branches; head office and channels as well as support the bank in meeting the current and future customer requirements.

Saiful Islam, MD & CEO, The Bank of Khyber, said, “This agreement meets the bank’s strategic long-term plans in increasing operational efficiency.”

He said the bank is continuously optimising the process and system to best serve the customer needs round the clock and this strategic alliance with Temenos & NDC tech will enable us to focus the Bank on business Development and would enable us to have a strong footing on the digital platforms.

Muhammad Azfar Latif, CIO, the bank added the bank, has a long term vision to optimize and digitise on the process for internal/external customers, regulators and other authorities.

Ammara Masood, CEO and President of NdcTech said, “We are very pleased to have Bank of Khyber select us as their partner for Digital and Core Banking Transformation. We believe that this reinforces our position as the leader in the market and allows the bank to support their aggressive growth plans in the coming years.”

Wapda chief visit Mohmand Dam project site

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Muzammil Hussain and a jirga of local elders headed by local MNA Sajid Khan on Friday visited Mohmand Dam project site to witness construction work on the access roads on banks of River Swat.

The 15.5-kilometre road starting from Munda headworks would provide access for construction of the dam’s spillway and irrigation tunnels.

The project authorities and representatives of the contractor and consultants were also present on the occasion.

Wapda has already accomplished several activities relating to construction of the project, including setting up of a weather station in the project area, installation of gauging instruments at the river to measure the discharge of water and carrying out initial geo-tech boring for construction of the structures.

On the occasion, the Wapda chairman said that Mohmand dam project would provide more than 6,000 jobs during its construction.