TIMERGARA: Nusrat Begum, a woman candidate in NA-34 of Lower Dir district, on Thursday refused to answer questions of the returning officer (RO) in the constituency during scrutiny of her nomination papers.

RO Peer Bakhsh had summoned all candidates for NA-34 for scrutiny of their nomination papers.

When he put questions to Nusrat Begum, she said she couldn’t reply them in front of so many people.

She said she would contest election to solve the people’s problems of unemployment, health, education and infrastructure in Lower Dir.

When the RO asked if Nusrat Begum has been given the PTI ticket for NA-34, another aspirant, Bashir Khan, stood up and said the party had awarded ticket to him.

The RO asked former senator and JUI-F leader Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan to provide separate and detailed information of his dependents.

He was also asked to describe whether women and children in Malakand division had their due Islamic rights.

Mr Gul Naseeb replied that women and children of the area had been deprived of their basic rights.

When asked about the role of politicians in ending corruption, former state minister for inter-provincial coordination Malik Azmat Khan said Pakistan had been facing the menace ‘from top to bottom.’

The RO asked him to explain his big achievements during the last three years as MNA and state minister.

In reply, Malik Azmat counted water supply schemes, supply of Sui gas and construction of Malik Muzaffar Khan Memorial Stadium. A former union council nazim affiliated with PPP objected to Malik Azmat Khan’s candidature and demanded his disqualification for making contradictory statements in his nomination form.

He said the state minister had disappeared from the area for five years and that he had been involved in massive corruption.

Malik Azmat urged the RO to seek documentary evidence in this respect from the complainant.

While responding to a question, Sahibzada Yaqub Khan of JI said ideal Islamic system didn’t exist in the world at the moment and that democracy was the safest way for enforcing Islamic law in the country.

“All other ways are dangerous and bloody,” he replied when asked to elaborate on how Islamic law could be enforced in Pakistan.

Mr Peer Bakhash asked candidates about provincial autonomy, democracy and dictatorship, creation of new provinces, verses of the Holy Quran, creation of Pakistan, present judicial system and ‘sharia regulation’ in Malakand division.

Four aspirants of PPP, two of JI, three of JUI-F, four of PTI, one each from other political parties and several independent candidates appeared before the RO.

A candidate representing APML failed to tell the RO in which month Pakistan had come into being. Two aspirants didn’t show up.