QUETTA, Oct 5: The Election Commission has completed arrangements for the third round of polls to be held on Thursday in 26 of the 28 districts of Balochistan. There will be no polling in Dera Bugti and Jhal Magsi as district and tehsil nazims and members for reserved seats have been elected unopposed. Those declared unopposed by the Election Commission are district nazims Mohammad Kazim Bugti of Dera Bugti, Jam Kamal Khan of Lasbela and Nawabzada Khalid Hussain Khan Magsi of Jhal Magsi and nazims of 16 tehsil councils.
The leadership of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League has been unable to field consensus candidates for the posts of nazims in different districts, towns and tehsils. And the official candidates of the PML are facing strong opposition within the party as many candidates belonging to the ruling party have refused to withdraw their candidature in violation of the party’s high command.
In the provincial capital of Quetta, the situation for the party appears to be precarious with three panels of the ruling PML contesting the posts of Quetta City nazim, Zarghoon and Chiltan town nazims. The party high command nominated former nazim Mohammad Rahim Kakar for the Quetta City nazim and directed other candidates belonging to the party to withdraw in his favour.
But Mir Maqbool Lehri, a former mayor of Quetta, refused to accept the party’s decision, claiming that he enjoyed support of majority of the councillors in the 67 union councils. “Wrong decisions of the high command cannot be accepted and I will prove it wrong by winning the nazim election,” Mr Lehri said.
Another group calling itself Al-Fateh panel also belongs to the ruling PML. This panel has put Hayatullah Ghilzai as its candidate for the Quetta City nazim’s slot.
These PML groups have also fielded their candidates for Zarghoon and Chiltan towns. Dr Aziz Qureshi and Ismail Lehri are the PML’s official candidates for Zarghoon and Chiltan towns, respectively. Ghaffar Kakar, Nasir Qambrani are candidates of the Maqbool panel for the two towns, while the Al-Fateh group is supporting Anwar Nasim Kasi and Saleem Shahwani.
The coalition partner of the PML-led provincial government, the MMA is contesting the election as the Deen Dost panel and Maulana Abdul Qadir Luni is its candidate for nazim Quetta city and it is supporting Abdul Sadiq and Abdul Rauf Kurd for Zarghoon and Chiltan towns.
The opposition alliance comprising the PPP, BNP-Mengal, PMAP, National Party and PML-N has fielded Dr Kaleemullah of the PMAP for Quetta city nazim’s slot while Rozi Khan of the PPP is its candidate for Zarghoon town and Malik Naseer Shahwani from the BNM- Mengal for Chiltan town. The Awami National Party has announced its support for the opposition alliance’s candidates.
The chief minister, who is also provincial president of the PML, did not succeed in his efforts to get dissidents to withdraw their candidatures for the posts of Quetta city and town nazims and the party is facing similar problems in several other districts, including Kharan, Washuk, Nushki, Chagai and Bolan where PML groups were contesting the election against each other.
In Pishin, the main contest will be between Kamal-ud-din of JUI-F and Mohammad Essa Roshan of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party.
The PMAP and ANP are supporting each other in the district and tehsil council while the PML and JUI have entered into an alliance.
In the border district of Qila Abdullah, the ANP has joined hands with JUI-F and put Haji Adam Khan as a joint candidate while the PMAP is supporting Sohbat Khan.
The situation is quite complex in the district of Nushki where the Al-Fateh group headed by Sardar Fateh Mohammad Hasni and the Milli Badani group were in the run for district and tehsil posts. Both the groups belong to the ruling PML and have put Asif Sher and Mohammad Yousuf as their candidates for district nazim’s post. The situation is the same in Chaghi where Haji Mir Mohammad Hussain Notezai, Mohammad Arif and Mohammad Hasni from the same party are contesting against each other.
In Zhob, the PMAP and JUI-F are the main rivals.
The ruling Muslim League has entered into an alliance with the PMAP.
In the district of Barkhan, Mir Habibullah Khan of the PML is contesting against Abdul Kareem. In Musakhel district, Azizullah of the JUI-F and Sardar Taimour Shah of the PMAP are in the run for the post of district nazim.
In Sibi, the PML and the local Sibi Muttahida Mahaz are contesting against each other. A former bureaucrat and provincial chief secretary Fateh Khan Khajak has been fielded by the Sibi Mahaz while Mir Ali Mardan Khan Domki enjoys PML’s support. In the district of Ziarat, Dilwar Khan is contesting the nazim’s post as JUI-F’s candidate while Habib-ur-Rehman is supported by the Muslim League.
In the sensitive district of Kohlu, Mir Mohabat Khan Mari, a former provincial minister of the PML, and three candidates, Ahmed Jan, Ali Gul and Naseebullah are in the run. In Nasirabad, the main candidates are Mir Mohammad Sadiq Umrani of the PPP and Sardar Fateh Mohammad Umrani of the PML while in Jaffarabad Mir Khan Mohammad Jamali of the PML, Aftab Ali of JUI-F, Ghulam Rasool, Mohammad Mureed Khan and Mir Sardar Khan Rind are the main candidates.
In Bolan, two groups of the PML are contesting against each other. Sardar Khan Rind is enjoying the support of his father, federal minister Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, while Mir Hamayun Aziz Kurd is supported by provincial minister Mir Asim Kurd who also belongs to the PML.
In Mastung, the main contest is between the PPP and the National Party. Sardar Kamal Khan Bangulzai is candidate of the NP and Nawabzada Yadgar Raisani of the PPP. In Kalat, the National Party and the PML have put Agha Irfan as their joint candidate while senior vice-president National Party Sardar Sanaullah Zehri’s brother Mir Niamatullah Zehri enjoys the support of JUI-F. Prince Umar Daud Ahmedzai is also in the run in Kalat.
In Khuzdar, BNP-Mengal and the NP have jointly put Sardar Naseer Ahmed Moosiani while Mir Zafarullah Khan Zehri, younger brother of Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, is the other main candidate who is being backed by the JUI-F and BNP-Awami.
In Kharan, former nazim Khair Jan Baloch (NP) and Nseer Ahmed Bizenjo (PML)are in the run while the main contest is expected between Dr Ishaq Baloch (NP) and Shaukat Ali (PML).
In the newly created district of Washuk, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman (PML-Al-Fateh panel) is contesting against Agha Khan.
In Kech, Mir Abdul Rauf (BNP-Awami) and Barkat Ali (National Party) are the main candidates while in Panjgur, the National Party has fielded Haji Mohammad Aslam against Asadullah, the joint candidate of the PML and BNP-Awami.
In Gwadar, the ruling PML is supporting Mir Abdul Ghafoor Kalmati and the other candidate in the new port city is Syed Mayar Jan Noori who is younger brother of provincial minister Syed Sher Jan Baloch.
