PESHAWAR – Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) that ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after winning majority seats in 2013 general election has challenged political heavyweights in four provincial assembly seats of
provincial metropolis by pitting young contenders to contest elections.
After delimitation four provincial assembly seats including PK 75, 77 and 78 falls in Peshawar urban. It is interesting that significant political entities including PPP and ANP that were on the helms of affairs in Peshawar city before the emergence of PTI after 2013 are again being threatened by young blood in form of PTI candidates.
PK 75, previously PK 4, was once regarded as the bastion of Awami National Party (ANP), whose candidates win election from the constituency for four times. Haji Muhammad Adeel, the late political stalwart of ANP wins the seat for four times while die-hard ANP worker, Aqil Shah who has family roots in PK 75 and serves as Provincial Sports Minister won 2008 with a narrow margin defeating Ibrahim Qasmi, an independent and Kifayat Orakzai of PPP who has joined ANP.
PTI won the seat in 2013 by fielding Arif Yousaf Advocate who sweeps poll in the constituency by defeating Aqil Shah of ANP in their stronghold of PK 75. Results of the same constituency would be interesting as PTI has awarded ticket to a newcomer Malik Wajid Ullah while the previous winner Arif Yousaf has been denied ticket by PTI.
Aqil Shah of ANP is again contesting election from PK 75 against Malik Wajid Ullah of PTI. Pakistan Muslim League has awarded ticket to legendary squash player and British Open, Qamar Zaman form PK 75.
Majority of the voters in the constituency are educated and it is regarded as a prestigious constituency owing to its components that included Cantonment, Saddar, and Gulberg areas.
In PK 78 that comprised majority of areas including walled city of Peshawar main contest is expected among new comer Muhammad Irfan of PTI, Haroon Bilour of ANP and Haji Ghulam of MMA. Pakistan Tehreek Labbaik has given the ticket to Mahad Tariq Awan while Muhammad Shah Mohmand would contest election from Qoumi Watan Party.
PTI has awarded ticket to Kamran Bangash to contest election from PK 77 who though win local government elections is new in provincial level elections where veteran politician Syed Zahir Ali Shah is contesting election from the platform of PPP. Moulana Khair-ul- Bashar who contested in the same
constituency from JUI is representing MMA while Haji Umar Mohmand is contesting
election from ANP.
It is worth mentioning that majority of the candidates fielded by PTI are new comer that depicts the confidence of PTI leadership to win elections in these areas.
