PESHAWAR, Nov 10: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) has advised its candidate to withdraw in favour of Bakhtiar Muani, the nominee of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and a member of JI, for NA-35 Malakand seat by-electionbe held on Dec 15.

Talking to newsmen here at an Eid gift distribution ceremony organized by the Al-Rashid Trust at a local hotel, NWFP Minister for Industries and Mineral Development Malik Zafar Azam said that the

JUI was bound to accept the decision of the MMA supreme council regarding all issues, including the Malakanad by-election.

He said the JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had advised the party candidate to withdraw in favour of the MMA candidate, Bakhtiar Muani. The Malakand unit of the JUI had been asked to abide by the MMA decision and work for the success of Mr Muani, he added.

Malik Azam criticized the federal government for meddling in local politics . Federal ministers, encamped in Malakand, were making tall claims about development in the area to hoodwink people, but they knew all about the federal government's candidate, he added.

He said if Salim Saifullah was keen to serve the poor, the provincial government was ready to make him (Saifullah) chairman of the district zakat committee.

He denied any split over the nomination of candidate in the by-election and said Mr Muani was their (MMA) joint candidate for NA-35. He was hopeful that the MMA would win the seat without any problem, because the MMA had won it in the previous polls.

He said that the federal government had become a party to the entire exercise and it was a duty of the Chief Election Commissioner to put a ban on visits of federal ministers to Malakand.

Appreciating the welfare work of the Al-Rashid Trust, he said such Eid packages should be organized by the government.

He said distribution of Rs100,000 among widows and orphans was a commendable welfare activity undertaken by the Rashid Trust, which had been serving the displaced people of Afghanistan for several years.

Later, he distributed Eid gifts and cash among widows from Peshawar and Charsadda.