PK-62 by-election: Kohistani jirga backs PTI candidate

MANSEHRA: A tribal jirga in the newly-created Palas-Kolai district of Kohistan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has pledged its unconditional support for Zar Gul Khan in the upcoming by-elections elections in the area.

Contesting on a PTI ticket, Khan would be standing for the PK-62 Kohistan-II seat.

Elders from around eight tribes had gathered in Kohistan on Sunday evening to discuss the political situation in the area. Thanking the provincial government for honouring its word on creating the Palas-Kolai district, they unanimously announced their backing for Khan, who is PTI’s Hazara division president. In this regard, elders said that the local tribes would not field any candidate against him.

PK-62 fell vacant last month after its incumbent, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl MPA Maulana Asmatullah, resigned. While the former MPA cited lack of time and inability to address issues of his constituents, insiders said Asmatullah had agreed to step down following an agreement with the PTI-led government to create the Palas-Kolai district.

The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced that by-elections will be held in early May.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2017.