MANSEHRA: Senior Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl leader Mufti Kifayatullah on Friday complained about the denial of the party’s ticket for the Mansehra mayor election and sought his nomination for the electoral contest.

He wrote a letter to the party chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, for the purpose.

Mr Kifayatullah also submitted his nomination papers to the respective returning officer here for the mayor election as an independent candidate.

He went there along with a group of the JUI-F workers, who shouted slogans for his nomination.

Senior party leader files nomination papers as independent

The JUI-F parliamentary board tasked with finalising candidates for the second phase of local body elections in the province awarded the ticket for the Mansehra tehsil mayor election to former district naib nazim Attiqur Rehman.

“I expected that the party would provide me with an opportunity to contest the Mansehra mayor election, but it has kept me out of the contest and has given away the poll ticket to a newcomer to the party, Attiqur Rehman,” Mr Kifayatullah said in a letter written to Mr Fazl.

He insisted that the parliamentary board’s decision on election nomination had violated his ‘privilege’ as an activist, who rendered great sacrifices for the party, especially during testing times, so Mr Fazl should set it aside and field him for the election.

The JUI-F parliamentary board also awarded mayor election ticket to district general secretary of the party Nasir Mahmood for Baffa-Pakhal, Ijaz Khan Awan for Oghi, Wali Jan for Darband and Mohammad Farooq for Balakot.

It also fielded Shahzad Shah, who recently joined the JUI-F after quitting the Awami National Party, for mayor election in Kundar Hassanzai tehsil, Said Mahmood in Judah tehsil and Haji Mohammad in Dormera tehsil of Torghar district.

MINISTER MEETS ANGRY LEADERS: Railway minister Azam Khan Swati met members of the PTI’s disgruntled group here on Friday and requested them not to field own candidates for tehsil mayor elections in Mansehra district.

Accompanied by PTI leader in Saudi Arabia Bashir Khan Swati, Mr Swati told Ajmal Khan and Dr Ashfaq that they, as the PTI leaders, should accept the leadership’s decision on election nominations and support candidates in the ‘larger’ party interest.

The disgruntled group’s leaders told the minister that they would consider his request for the withdrawal of announcement about the fielding of own election candidates.

Meanwhile, PTI nominee for Mansehra tehsil mayor slot Kamal Saleem Swati submitted his nomination papers to the relevant returning officer.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2022