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| August 25, 2005 | Thursday | Rajab 19, 1426 |
ANP forms alliance with Jamaat
PESHAWAR, Aug 24: The Awami National Party-backed Watan Dost Group and Jamaat-i-Islami-backed Al-Khidmat Group on Wednesday entered into an alliance for the elections of Peshawar city district and its four town councils.
Haroon Bilour of the Watan Dost Group (WDG) was nominated for the coveted post of district nazim whereas the post of naib nazim has been given to the Al-Khidmat Group (AKG) which will announce the name of its candidate later.
Similarly, Haji Dost Mohammad of the AKG will contest as a joint candidate for the post of nazim Peshawar Town-I. Names of candidates for the posts of nazims and naib Nazims in three other towns will be announced later.
The two groups signed an election agreement at the residence of ANP MPA and provincial president Bashir Bilour after a marathon meeting.
Later, speaking at a joint press conference, ANP leader Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and JI MNA Shabbir Ahmad Khan explained the salient features of the agreement.
Under the agreement, the post of city district nazim went to the WDG and that of naib nazim to the AKG. Posts of nazims of the Town I and III went to the AKG and those of Town II and IV were given to the WDG. Moreover, the WDG will nominate candidates for the slots of naib nazims of Town I and III whereas AKG would field candidate for naib nazims of Town II and IV.
Both the leaders hoped that their groups would follow the suit in other districts.
Mr Bilour claimed that 64 of the 92 union council nazims in NWFP districts belonged to the two groups and a number of independent nazims had contacted them. He said that the reserved seats for women and minorities in the districts and town councils would also be distributed on the same pattern.
When asked about ideological difference between the ANP and the JI, Mr Bilour said that local government elections were being held on non-party basis and even in the past both the parties had entered into an alliance even on national level.
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