MANSEHRA: The seats reserved for non-Muslims in the tehsil councils of Torghar, Kolai-Palas, Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan would remain vacant as no one has filed nomination papers for them.

The list released by Election Commissioner of Pakistan showed that none of the non-Muslims came forward to contest the second phase of local government elections in those four districts of Hazara division.

Some of the seats reserved for women in Torghar, Kolai-Palas, Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan would also remain vacant.

Torghar has a total of 29 women contestants for reserved seats, followed by Upper Kohistan with six women candidates. Three women are in the race for the reserved seats in Kolai-Palas and only one in Lower Kohistan.

A total of 84 contestants are in the run for slots of mayor in Mansehra, Balakot, Oghi, Darband and Baffa-Pakhal tehsils. As many as 1,769 candidates are contesting for general councillor seats in 194 village and neighbourhood councils of Mansehra.

Torghar has 29 women candidates for reserved seats

As many as 401 would run for seats reserved for peasants, 793 for labourers, 401 for women seats and 647 for the seats reserved for youth and only three for the seats reserved for religious minorities in the all 194 village and neighbourhood councils of the district.

ARREST: Police arrested narcotics peddlers and seized contrabands being smuggled out of the district.

A press release said that Pulrah police recovered around three kilograms of charas from a vehicle and arrested Mehboob Shah. It added that Balakot police arrested Rafique Shah and recovered over two kilograms of charas from his possession.

In another raid, Amir Shah was arrested in Paras and one kilogram of charas was seized from him.

MINISTER: Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati said on Sunday that opposition could not dislodge Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan would overwhelmingly survive the no -confidence vote as the opposition parties are not united,” he told journalists in Oghi.

He said that prime minister was not responsible for the current inflation. He said that his ministry adopted a mechanism to pull the railways out of the annual deficit.

Mr Swati also gave away election tickets to PTI candidates for the tehsil mayor slots. “Mansehra and the rest of Hazara division is our party’s stronghold.

We are going to make history after securing almost all mayor seats in seven districts of the division in the second phase of the local government elections,” he said.

PTI awarded ticket to Kamal Saleem Swati for Mansehra tehsil mayor slot.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2022