Major parties field inexperienced candidates for Peshawar mayorship

PESHAWAR: Major political parties and influential families in the provincial capital have nominated inexperienced youths for the mayorship of the provincial capital in the first phase of the local government elections scheduled to be held on December 19.

The elders and supporters of various parties justified fielding the young and energetic candidates, saying they could better serve their electorate on this important seat compared to an aged mayor.

However, some of the leaders criticised the decision and said that instead of fielding inexperienced youths, they should have nominated senior and experienced candidates for one of the most important seats in the local bodies elections.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) provincial leader and former councillor town-2 in Peshawar, Abdul Mateen Khan, observed that the major political parties should have nominated senior and experienced candidates. He said his party had nominated Haji Zubair, the son of former senator and ex-nazim Haji Ghulam Ali.

He said the former nazim Haji Ghulam Ali had served Peshawarites in the past and he had experience of running affairs of the local bodies. Though, he claimed, his party’s position was better than those of all his opponents, still he believed that Haji Ghulam Ali would have been a much better option.

He claimed that his party had a majority in the provincial metropolis and would win the forthcoming election because of the role of Ghulam Ali in local politics.

Similarly, former federal ministers and central leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Arbab Alamgir Khan and Asma Alamgir Khan have nominated their son Zarak Khan, who is young and inexperienced to run complicated affairs.

The PPP provincial leader, Ziaullah Afridi, had filed his nomination paper as independent for the mayor slot but the central and provincial leadership convinced him to withdraw papers in favour of Arbab Zarak Khan. According to him, the senior leader would have been a better choice for this post.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has allotted the ticket to Rizwan Bangash, who, according to even the party activists, is a new face. Though the PTI workers had reservations, they had accepted the leadership’s decision.

In their separate chat with The News, the PTI activists said they would work for the success of the party’s nominee but suggested it would have been better if the leadership had picked one amongst the old guards.

Several activists of PTI have objected to the PTI candidate for Peshawar tehsil mayorship as they said the candidate originally hails from Orakzai district.

A video was recently circulated on the social media, criticising the PTI for nominating a candidate from an area outside Peshawar.

Former PTI district nazim, Asim Khan, said that Rizwan Bangash belongs to Peshawar ashis family has been living in the provincial capital for decades.

The Awami National Party has fielded Haji Sher Rehman and Jamaat-i-Islami hasawarded ticket to Bahrullah Khan advocate, Shoaib Khan is the candidate of Tehreek-e-Istiqlal.

The independent candidates for the slot are Amin Jan, Shamsher Khan, Amir Iqbal Khalil, Kifayatullah, Muhammad Ibrahim, Muhammad Siddique Paracha and Nadeem Khan.