PESHAWAR, March 27: In an unprecedented move in the political history of the province, all the parliamentary groups in NWFP Assembly have decided not to put up their candidates against Amir Haider Khan Hoti and get him elected as unopposed chief minister of the province.

Perhaps, so far, he will be the only consensus candidate for the coveted slot in a society marred by political feuds and rivalries.

The mainstream Pakistan People’s Party is a junior partner of the Awami National Party in the coalition. Their collective numbers in the house are enough to throw up a strong administration in the violence-hit province, but owing to their political arrangement at the centre, they are constrained to accommodate Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl in the province. At least, PML-N will sit on the treasury benches, if it goes with the JUI, which has decided to side with the opposition, it will be a bad omen for the grand coalition at the centre.

The ANP has preferred to seek guidance through customs rather than democratic ways to deal with its political opponents. An ANP-PPP joint delegation visited the homes of PML-Q provincial chief Amir Muqam Khan, PPP-S chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and JUI-F parliamentary leader Akram Khan Durrani and requested all of them not to put up opposition’s candidates against the chief minister-designate Amir Haider Khan Hoti, would-be speaker Karamatullah Khan Chagharmati and deputy speaker Khushdil Khan.

The opposition groups assured them they would not bring their candidates against all the three offices and give them a chance to start their parliamentary innings with a pleasant opening.

Talking to Dawn, chief minister-designate Amir Haider Khan Hoti said: “It is a positive development. We needed a good start and it is a good start. It is a new social contract and this province has set a good example for other provinces to follow. It was also the need of the hour for all political forces to come together on minimum agenda, more so in this province which has its own problems. It is a new beginning and we welcome it.”

PPP provincial chief Rahimdad Khan said that their coalition was set to begin its political journey with high hopes from Friday. “Our coalition will not disappoint all those who have extended a helping hand to us. The particular conditions of our province demand us to adopt a collective approach for the solution of our colossal problems,” he added.

Endorsing opposition’s stand on cooperation with the government, former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani said: “The prevailing security situation in the NWFP warranted political tolerance and solidarity amongst all the political forces and it was because of this that we decided not to field candidate against Mr Hoti. We have unanimity of views on all major issues, including law and order, provincial autonomy, renaming of the province, independent and free judiciary and media. It is a goodwill gesture on our part, although we will sit on opposition benches here in the NWFP.”

Giving his version of the situation, PML-Q provincial chief Amir Muqam said they would sit on opposition benches, but they would not contest against the coalition’s three candidates running for the slots of chief minister, speaker and deputy speakers. He said the leaders of ANP and PPP visited his home and sought his party’s help on the issue. It was a good move on their part on this occasion. “We have decided not to contest against their candidates. Our province is faced with lawlessness, which needs our joint efforts to overcome it,” he added.

Commenting on the unique development, PPP-S provincial general secretary Sikandar Khan Sherpao said people of this province had bestowed them with a clear mandate. “We don’t want to act as opposition for the sake of opposition. We will play our positive role, but we will not oppose the elections of chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker. We are faced with issues like provincial autonomy, terrorism, general lawlessness and price-hike which needed to be solved forthwith,” he said.