23 in run as KP Assembly set to elect 12 senators today

PESHAWAR: Speculations and hobnobbing is at its peak as the members of provincial assembly vote today to elect members of the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

As many as 23 candidates are in the run for the 12 seats of the Senate from the province after two contenders retired from the race on Tuesday. The polling will be held in the hall of the provincial assembly in Peshawar.

An official of the Election Commission of Pakistan said two candidates submitted applications for retirement from the contest. They include Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F)’s Tariq Khattak who was a candidate for the general seat and his party colleague Naeema Kishwar contesting for seats reserved for women.

The candidates could retire from the polls till 12 noon on Tuesday. According to the final list after retirement of the two contenders, there are now 23 candidates in the fray for the seven general seats, two reserved seats for technocrats and two for women, and one for minorities.

In the House of 145, the ruling PTI has 94 members, JUI-F has 15 MPAs, ANP 12, PML-N seven and PPP six. Besides, there are three MPAs associated with the JI, four with the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and one with PM-Q. Four are independent members, though one of them, Amjad Afridi from Kohat, recently joined the PPP.

Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz, former Senator Liaqat Tarakai, former Senator and industrialist-turned-politician Mohsin Aziz, industrialist from Mardan Faisal Saleem and former Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, son of former PPP lawmaker Khanzada Khan, are the candidates of the PTI for general seats.

The PTI will also support Taj Mohammad Afridi of BAP, the Balochistan-based party having four MPAs in KP. Four of the PTI candidates were members of the Senate until now and are contesting again.

The other candidates for the general seats include Maulana Attaur Rehman, son of late Jamaat-e-Islami MNA from Mardan, Maulana Gohar Rehman, Maulana Attaur Rehman, who is son of late Maulana Mufti Mahmood and brother of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and Hidayatullah Khan of Awami National Party.

Sania Nishtar, the special assistant to the prime minister on poverty alleviation, and Falak Naz from Chitral are nominees of PTI for seats reserved for women. Tasleem Begum of ANP and Inayat Begum of JI are among those also in the run for seats reserved for women.

According to the final list of the candidates for the seats reserved for technocrats, the PTI has fielded Dost Mohammad Mehsud and Dr Humayun Mohmand and ANP has awarded ticket to Dr Shaukat Jamal Amirzada, son of late National Awami National, now renamed ANP), leader Amirzada Khan.

Former Senator Farhatullah Babar is the PPP candidate for the reserved seats for technocrats while the JI has fielded Dr Iqbal Khalil.

Gurdeep Singh of PTI, Asif Bhatti of ANP, Javed Gill of JI and Ranjeet Singh of JUI are among the candidates for the one seat reserved for minorities.