Provincial politicking: JI to form coalition government if victorious

JUI-F will orchestrate a bigger coalition to contest elections from Khyber Pakhtunkhawa

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Monday declared it will form an alliance with other religious parties and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to form a government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) if the party emerges victorious in the upcoming general elections.

The party would be contesting elections from 90% of the constituencies in K-P and would soon be announcing the names of all candidates, for both national and provincial assemblies, said JI’s General Secretary Shabir Ahmad Khan during a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club.

Expressing concerns about voters, Khan said National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has been withholding computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of thousands of people from K-P and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). “If the cards are not issued on time, thousands of people will not be able to vote in the polls,” he lamented.



Khan requested the Election Commission of Pakistan to direct NADRA to issue the identity cards on time.

He alleged the ruling ministers were using the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) for political purposes, adding BISP cards are being given to women on the condition that they will cast votes in their (the ministers) favour.

The JI will be starting its election campaign in K-P from March 23, when it will hold a gathering which will be addressed by the party’s chief Syed Munawar Hussain.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2013.