CHITRAL: The leaders of different political parties fear abysmally low turnout in the forthcoming elections due to their scheduling in the month of February when most of the residents have already left the valley for relatively warmer areas to earn their livelihoods.

They said people, especially youth, left the area every year with the advent of winter to either seek employment in the major cities, or spend the winter months in warmer areas, or attend the Tableeghi Jamaat missions in Punjab and other areas. The people returned in March and April.

Qari Jamal Abdul Nasir, a candidate for National Assembly seat here, said that villages wore a deserted look during the winter season due to departure of majority of people for other areas of the country. He added such a scenario would badly affect the voter turnout during the polls.

He said due to the limited number of opportunities of employment in Chitral, more than half of the skilled and unskilled labour swarmed the cities of Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi, where they worked for five months to earn a living for their families.

Say majority of Chitralis migrate to warmer places in winter

He said the people associated with Tableeghi Jamaat also left the area in large numbers for Punjab and Sindh.

Khadija Bibi, another candidate of NA general seat, said intense weather was yet another potential factor, hampering turnout. She said elections were scheduled at a time when winter peaked in Chitral and the remote valleys remained cut off due to heavy snowfall.

Khadija Bibi said in case of snowfall on the polling day or a day earlier, life would come to a standstill thereby making it next to impossible to ensure the process of polling in the mountainous villages.

CANDIDATE WITHDRAWS: Pakistan Rah-i-Haq Party (PRHP) announced on Wednesday to withdraw its candidate in favour of Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali for NA-1 seat here.

PRHP candidate for the NA seat and district emir Maulana Sirajuddin Qureshi announced the decision while addressing a press conference. He said the party extended its support to Mr Chitrali as he was instrumental in passage of the Criminal Laws (amendment) Bill, 2023, meant to increase the punishment for disrespecting the Sahaba-i-Kiram.

He said the party’s central and provincial leadership had given him instructions to lend full support for the success of Maulana Chitrali in elections.

Flanked by former lawmaker Akbar Chitrali and others, Mr Qureshi said the passage of the bill was a landmark in the history of the parliament, which checked the desecration of the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Mr Qureshi said his party workers would canvass door-to-door for Mr Chitrali.

On the occasion, Mr Chitrali said it was a challenge for him to get the bill passed from the parliament.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2023