ECP issues final list of candidates from KP

PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday issued the final list of candidates from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the upcoming Senate polls.

Sixteen candidates withdrew nomination papers on Thursday as the political parties finalised contenders for the 12 Senate seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The elections are to be held as per schedule on March 3 for which the ECP has finalized arrangements.

According to the list issued by the ECP, there are now 25 candidates in the run. They include 11 for general seats, five each for the seats reserved for women and technocrats. Four contestants are for seats reserved for religious minorities.

Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz, former senator Liaqat Tarakai who is the father of provincial education minister Shahram Khan Tarakai, former senator and industrialist-turned-politician Mohsin Aziz, Mardan industrialist Faisal Saleem and Zeeshan Khanzada, son of former lawmaker Khanzada Khan, are the candidates of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for general seats.

The PTI will also support Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) candidate Taj Mohammad Afridi.

Among the other candidates for the general seats are Maulana Attaur Rehman, son of Maulana Gohar Rehman of Jamaat-e-Islami, Maulana Attaur Rehman son of late Mufti Mahmood and brother of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and his party colleague Mohammad Tariq Khattak, and Hidayatullah Khan of the Awami National Party (ANP).

Dr Sania Nishtar, the special assistant to the prime minister on poverty alleviation and social safety and also Benazir Income Support Programme chairperson, and Falak Naz, who hails from Chitral, are contenders of PTI for the two seats reserved for women.

Tasleem Begum of ANP, Inayat Begum of Jamaat-e-Islami and Naeema Kishwar of JUI-F are also vying for the seats reserved for women.

According to the final list of the candidates for the two seats reserved for technocrats, the PTI has fielded Dost Mohammad Mehsud and Dr Humayun Mohmand.

The ANP has put up Dr Shaukat Jamal Amirzada. Farhatullah Babar is the PPP candidate for the reserved seats for technocrats while Jamaat-e-Islami has fielded Dr Iqbal Khalil.

Gurdeep Singh of PTI, Asif Bhatti of ANP, Javed Gill of Jamaat-e-Islami and Ranjeet Singh of JUI-F are among the candidates for the one seat reserved for minorities.