On shaky ground: JUI-F struggling to find electable candidates in Charsadda

Former MPA Idrees of PK-19 and NA-8 has refused to contest against Aftab Sherpao in these constituencies.

SHABQADAR:

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) seems to be struggling to find suitable contestants in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) after some of its senior candidates turned down party tickets, supposedly on health grounds.

According to reports, some clerics, including Mufti Syed Qamar for NA-4 Peshawar, Mufti Abdullah Shah for NA-7 Charsadda and Maulana Idrees for NA-8 and PK-19 Charsadda, are averse to jumping in the political arena.

Mufti Abdullah, who was awarded a ticket to contest from NA-7, is a well-known figure because of his command on religious jurisprudence, and his speeches on local FM radio stations in Charsadda. He was expected to give a tough time to Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan in the same constituency – not unlike the late Maulvi Hassan Jan who defeated ANP leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan in 1990, forcing Wali to shun electoral politics.



After Abdullah’s refusal, the JUI-F is left with fewer options and is currently on the lookout for other influential candidates. But its efforts are yet to yield any results. The most plausible choice seems JUI-F’s District Ameer Maulana Gohar Shah, who defeated Asfandyar Wali Khan in the 2002 elections by obtaining 55,917 votes against Wali’s 31,364.

Similarly, former MPA Sheikh Idrees of PK-19 and NA-8 has refused to contest against Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in these constituencies.

Idrees is the son-in-law of late Maulvi Hassan Jan. Like Jan, he is also a prominent cleric and teaches at a seminary in Charsadda. He quit electoral politics claiming it was a hurdle in the way of his religious duties and is disliked by the masses.

JUI-F District General Secretary Fakhar-e-Alam Khan and candidate from PK-21 admitted the party was in a fix and said they were trying to field Maulana Gohar Shah from NA-7 and Mufti Gohar for NA-8 against Sherpao.

He acknowledged JUI-F is on weak ground at the moment, adding Mufti Gohar is not interested in contesting elections for a National Assembly seat and will instead contest for PK-20.  However, Fakhar was still optimistic and said his party will defeat ANP and Qaumi Watan Party leaders, saying it had won from NA-7 in 2002 and will win NA-8 this time around.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2013.