District govt: JI cuts deal with ANP

Claims PTI encroached upon its vote bank in Buner.

PESHAWAR: In a surprising development Jamaat-e-Islami has bid farewell to its coalition allies and struck a deal with Awami National Party in Buner.

The decision comes at a time when politicking for district and tehsil governments across the province is at its peak.

Both ANP and PTI offered the district nazim berth to the party that stood third in Buner with eight district councillors only. Yet it chose to side with ANP to keep PTI at bay.

When contacted, JI political committee head Dr Muhammad Iqbal confirmed the development.

“Both the ANP and PTI have equal seats,” he said. “They both offered us to join hands and this time we decided to go with ANP.”

Iqbal refuted the claims that there were other reasons for the change of heart. Keeping the long-time understanding and the coalition government in mind, JI tried its best to arrive at an agreement over the LG setup as well.

“PTI backtracked at the eleventh hour. Some of its leaders were unwilling to give in,” Iqbal maintained. He added this treatment came at a hefty cost to the party in Buner, Charsadda, Mardan and the provincial capital.

About the party’s overall position so far, Iqbal said JI will form governments in Chitral, Lower Dir and Upper Dir besides nominating the nazim of Buner and 18 tehsil nazims in different parts of the province.

Love is lost?

However, Iqbal said talks are still under way for an adjustment in Chitral and several other districts. “We will naturally make an alliance with PTI in districts where it benefits us the most,” he said.

Restoring status-quo

It seems Sirajul Haq and his men were of the view that PTI is denting their vote bank gradually.



“We have always stood second in local government elections in Buner. PTI’s emergence has cost us big time,” said a JI leader in Buner.

He said the party lost 40% of its vote bank since most of its supporters cast ballots in favour of Imran Khan and Co or independents.

In a bid to restore their previously monopolised rivalry, both ANP and JI resorted to making this rather unusual alliance of ideologically opposite fronts.

Full of hope

Nonetheless, PTI still feels its ally will return to the huddle no matter what. When contacted, PTI K-P Organiser Fazal Muhammad Khan said that negotiations are under way between the provincial and district leaders of both parties.

“JI’s deal with ANP is in our notice,” he said. “I hope it changes its mind and prefers us over others in Buner.” He admitted things are also not so smooth in Chitral where JI looks set to shake hands with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl.

When asked about PTI encroaching upon JI’s vote bank, he said, “PTI is the most popular party of K-P. People trust our leadership which is why they voted for us.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2015.