Watching from the sidelines: 121 candidates withdraw papers from Peshawar

NA-1 topped the list with 11 candidates opting out of the race

PESHAWAR: As the deadline draws closer, 121 candidates out of a pool of 425 on Thursday withdrew their nomination papers for four National Assembly and 11 provincial assembly seats from constituencies across the city.

NA-1 topped the list of withdrawals with 11 candidates, including Awami National Party’s Haroon Bashir Bilour, independent candidate Ahmad Aziz Bilour and Maulana Hussain Ahmad Maddani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), pulling out of the race.

Independent candidate Yasin Khalil, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Arbab Muhammad Tariq and Muhammad Hamayun Mohmand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Arbab Saiful Haider, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Asma Alamgir and JUI-F’s Faridullah Khan are among those who have opted out of the NA-2 race. From NA-4, PML-N stalwart Amir Muqam and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Khalid Waqas withdrew their papers.

ANP’s Malik Ghulam Mustafa, PTI’s Sarfaraz Murasalin and Samad Murasalin and PPP’s Zulfiqar Afghani withdrew their nominations from PK-2, while ANP’s Ahmad Aziz Bilour, JUI-F’s Abdur Rauf and PTI’s Zahid Hussain pulled back from the PK-3 contest.



From the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), only Advocate Khalida Nasreen withdrew her nomination papers for PK-4, while former PPP parliamentarian Asma Alamgir also withdrew from the same constituency.

Former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) assembly speaker Kiramatullah Khan Chagharmati of PPP withdrew his papers for PK-7, while ANP’s former provincial agriculture minister Arbab Muhammad Ayub Jan and JUI-F’s Haji Ghulam Ali are out of the race for PK-9.

Former K-P assembly deputy speaker Khushdil Khan of ANP, MQM’s Muhammad Arif, JUI-F’s Muhammad Tariq Afridi, and PTI’s Advocate Muhammad Arshad Advocate, Malik Tahir Raees and Muhammad Hanif Afridi withdrew their nomination papers for PK-10.

The final list of candidates will be announced on Friday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2013.