JUI-F, PkMAP agree to electoral adjustments

Achakzai withdraws in favour of Fazl in NA-265; Mufti Rozi pulls out to give PkMAP chief a walkover

QUETTA:

Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Achakzai withdrew his nomination paper for NA-265, Pishin, in support of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the president of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), senior leaders in both the parties said on Friday.

Reciprocating the goodwill gesture of the PkMAP, the JUI-F announced that its candidate, Mufti Rozi Khan, would withdraw from NA-263, Quetta, in favour of Achakzai, Maulana Abdul Wasey, the Balochistan Amir of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) told The Express Tribune.

“Since Mehmood Khan Achakzai has already withdrawn his nomination papers in support of Maulana Fazlur Rehman [the head of the JUI-F] in Pishin, therefore, as a goodwill gesture, the party decided to support the latter on NA-263 Quetta,” Wasey said.

Fazl hails from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). However, his party has very strong following in the Pashtoon-dominated areas of Balochistan, where the PkMAP also has a strong sway, according to political experts.

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However, in the last general elections in 2018, Fazl lost the contest, and was out of the National Assembly, though his son won his seat in the same district. “Maulana Fazl cannot take the risk of losing elections this time,” Shehzada Zulfiqar, a Balochistan-based senior journalist told The Express Tribune.

Political pundits as well as journalists believe that a mounting pressure from the former ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), has forced Fazl to contest elections from Pishin, one of the strongholds of his party. To ensure Fazl’s victory, the JUI-F is also in talks with PkMAP for seat-adjustments.

“Last time, Maulana Fazl was out of the National Assembly, therefore, this time he has chosen Pishin to ensure his presence in parliament,” Zulfiqar said. “Now it seems easy for the religious party leader to get elected as a member of the National Assembly (MNA) from the Pishin district of Balochistan.”

After the withdrawal Achakzai, Fazl is now contesting against Khushal Khan Kakar, the chief of the Pashtoonkhwa National Awami Party (PNAP), Syed Zahoor Agha, former Balochistan governor, and a leader of the PTI. Kakar is expected to be backed by the Awami National Party (ANP).

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2024.