PESHAWAR: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday awarded its ticket for the Peshawar mayor’s office to businessman Mohammad Rizwan Khan Bangash for the upcoming local body election scheduled for Dec 19.

It also named its ticket-holders for the position of the chairman of tehsil councils in 19 districts, where polls are to take place.

Minister Kamran Khan Bangash announced the names of the PTI candidates during a news conference.

According to the brief profile released by the party, Mr Rizwan, the candidate for the mayor of the Peshawar Metropolitan Corporation, is a businessman and runs a group of companies in the United Arab Emirates. A graduate of the Wollongong University, Australia, he has wide experience of different sectors.

Names candidates for top tehsil council offices in 19 districts

Mr Rizwan Bangash’s companies work for the UAE government and multinational corporations in waste management and sanitation, logistics and transportation, tourism, scrap recycling and trading, used equipment, real estate, and oil fields on-shore and offshore services.

According to the brief profile, Mr Rizwan has been associated with the PTI since 2010 and was elected the president of the party’s Abu Dhabi chapter twice consecutively. He also served as the president of the PTI UAE and the party’s senior vice- president and general secretary for Peshawar region.

Sources told Dawn that Mr Rizwan along with party activists Meena Khan, Irfan Saleem, former nazim Qasim Ali Shah and others was in the running for the coveted local body slot.

A PTI insider claimed that Chief Minister Mahmood Khan favoured Irfan Saleem and Meena Khan, but Governor Shah Farman supported Rizwan.

“In the final discussion, strong economic background of Rizwan won the day for him,” the source said, adding that Saleem and Meena were not given the nod due to their weak financial position.

The source said a family member of one of the party’s influential leaders from provincial capital was also in the running for the mayor’s post but had a few supporters in the party’s provincial hierarchy.

Besides nominating Mr Rizwan for the position of mayor, the ruling PTI has also nominated Samiullah for the tehsil council of Badhber, Arbab Waqas for Shah Alam’s, Nabi for Chamkani’s, Hafeezur Rehman for Chamkani’s, Mohammad Ihtsham for Mathra’s and Jabbar Khalil for Pishtakhara’s.

Mohammad Ihtesham, a candidate for the Mathra tehsil council from Peshawar, is said to be related to KP Assembly Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan.

As for other noted candidates, the party has awarded ticket from Dera Ismail Khan city to Umer Amin, brother of federal minister for Kashmir affairs Ali Amin Khan Gandapur. In Nowshera tehsil, Ishaq Khattak, the son of defence minister Pervez Khattak, has been fielded for the election.

In Swabi, two candidates, including Sohail Khan Tordher from Lahor and Mohammad Sohail Khan from Topi, have served as the party’s local councillors. In Bannu district, Noor Daraz, candidate for the position of the chairman of the Wazir tehsil council, has served as the naib nazim of Bannu Town-II. Besides, candidate for Bannu city Iqbal Jadoon has been associated with the party as a student leader.

The PTI has awarded two tehsil election tickets in Hangu district to Noor Awaz advocate and Javed Hassan, while Akhtar Nawaz Jadoon, Malik Naveed Iqbal and Raja Sahib Sikandar will contest election in Haripur as its nominees.

In Karak, Sajjad Ahmad Khan, Inayat and Azmat Khattak will be the ruling party’s candidates for three tehsils.

In Charsadda, Zafar Khan, Shahidullah and Irsahd have been given party tickets, while Dr Iqbal, Mohammad Salim Khan, Noor Gul and Mohammad Ihsanullah are the candidates for Lakki Marwat elections.

Mr Kamran said over 400 aspirants had applied for party tickets for chairman tehsil councils and following a detailed scrutiny, the PTI awarded tickets to 66 of them.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2021