ECP issues list of validly nominated Senate candidates after scrutiny

PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan issued a list of validly nominated candidates for the upcoming Senate elections from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after completing the scrutiny of nomination papers on Thursday.

The list of the candidates cleared to contest the Senate elections include Nasrullah Wazir, Farhatullah Babar, Hidayatullah Khan, Maulana Attaur Rehman, Mohammad Tariq Khattak, Syed Shibli Faraz, Faisal Saleem Rehman, Mohsin Aziz, Abbas Afridi, Zeeshan Khanzada, Dost Mohammad Mehsud, Najiullah Khattak, Mohammad Rizwan Khan, Hamidul Haq, Attaur Rehman, Taj Mohammad Afridi, Shakeel Afridi, Meena Khan Afridi and Liaqat Khan Tarakai for the general seats of the Senate.

For the seats reserved for technocrats, the validly nominated candidates include Farhatullah Babar, Dost Mohammad Mehsud, Dr Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Mohammad Iqbal Khalil, Dr Shaukat Jamal Amirzada, Dilroz Khan and Mohammad Ali Saif.

The women candidates are Naeema Kishwar Khan, Dr Sania Nishtar, Tasleem Begum, Farah Khan, Farzana Javed, Shazia Tehmas Khan, Falak Naz, Inayat Begum and Musarrat Jabeen.

The validly nominated candidates for the seat reserved for minorities are Ranjeet Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Araish Kumar, Asif Bhatti and Javed Gill.

An official of the ECP said the appeals against rejection or acceptance of nomination papers can be filed in the appellate tribunal headed by Justice Arshad Ali of the Peshawar High Court till February 20.

A total of 51 candidates had submitted nomination papers for the Senate elections from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They included 22 for general seats, 13 for women, 11 for technocrats and five for minorities.

The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is February 25. The polling will be held as per schedule on March 3.

Half of the senators, 52, are going to complete their six-year term on March 6. The new members of the Upper House of Parliament will be elected from all four provinces and federal capital, Islamabad, on March 3.