CHARSADDA: As general elections are round the corner, staunch rivals Awami National Party and Qaumi Watan Party finally agreed on seat adjustment in two National Assembly constituencies in Charsadda district on Sunday.

Addressing a joint press conference here on Sunday, ANP provincial chief Aimal Wali Khan and QWP central chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao justified the deal and said that keeping in view the larger interests of Pakhun nation the two parties decided to broker a deal on two National Assembly seats — NA-24 and NA-25 — for the upcoming polls.

They said that the move would ensure victory of the candidates of both parties.

According to the decision, ANP candidate Irfan Alam withdrew from NA-24 bout in favour of QWP chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao while QWP candidate Qaiser Jamal withdrew from NA-25 in favour of ANP candidate Aimal Wali Khan.

Irfan Alam and Qaiser Jamal were also present at the press conference.

The leaders of both ANP and QWP hoped that there would be a positive outcome of the seat adjustment. They said that both the parties would launch joint struggle for rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They said that they would render sacrifices and raised voice for rights of Pakhtuns. They pledged to protect 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy.

ANP and QWP agree on seat adjustment in two NA constituencies

After a short press briefing, the two leaders said that more questions of journalists would be answered at an appropriate time.

There are two national and five provincial assembly seats in Charsadda.

According to observers, the seat adjustment is a positive development for both the nationalist parties. However, they said that it would not be easy for the candidates of both the parties to win in presence of strong aspirants of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl in NA-24 and NA-25.

After withdrawal of ANP candidate Irfan Alam, the remaining candidates in NA-24 are Aftab Sherpo of QWP, Anwar Taj of PTI, Mufti Gohar Ali of JUI-F, Haji Samiullah of JI, Shazia Themas of PPP, Farah Khan of PML-N and few independents.

Likewise, QWP candidate Qaiser Jamal’s withdrawal from NA-25, the remaining candidates are ANP’s Aimal Wali Khan, JUI-F’s Gohar Shah, PTI’s Fazl Mohammad Khan, JI’s Musawer Shah, PPP’s Aftab Alam and few others.

The total number of voters in NA-24 is 5,404,270 including 280,438 men and 223,832 women. There are 188 male, 148 female and 18 combined polling stations while 630 male and 472 female polling booths in NA-24.

Meanwhile, Mr Sherpao has said the people should not vote for those people, who ruined the economy of the country.

Addressing a gathering in Gandheri union council on Sunday, he said that nation must not forget those, who attacked government buildings and military installations. He said PTI leadership polarised the society.

He said that PTI turned political differences into personal vendetta. “Imran Khan misguided the youth and provoked them to attack military installations,” alleged Mr Sherpao.

He said that political parties should join hands to come up with a common agenda to revive the economy and put the country on the path to development after elections. He said that the country could not afford political instability as enough damage was caused by politics of hatred.

He said that poor were grappling with a host of issues including skyrocketing inflation and unemployment. “The next government would have to work hard to provide relief to the have-nots, who have been exposed to unbearable inflation,” said the QWP chief.

He said that political parties should focus on welfare of poor instead of grabbing power. “The problems faced by the country need out-of-the-box thinking,” he added.

Mr Sherpao said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its merged districts were not getting due rights. He said that the residents of tribal districts felt deprived as pledges made with them remained unfulfilled. He said that law and order was deteriorating. He called for efforts to beef up security to ensure peaceful elections. He said that QWP would spare no effort to address the prevailing issues if it was voted to power.

To find your constituency and location of your polling booth, SMS your NIC number (no spaces) to 8300. Once you know your constituency, visit the ECP website here for candidates.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2024