January 10, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 30, 1428

HARIPUR, Jan 9: The ongoing wet spell across the Hazara division has slowed down the election campaign in Haripur forcing candidates to seek people’s support in a conventional way.

Although the assassination of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and the subsequent rescheduling of the elections had already drained excitement from electioneering, yet the four-day of rainfall rendered it further sluggish.

The candidates, who before the Liaquat Bagh tragedy were seen addressing several corner meetings in a single day, now prefer to either invite the focal persons or elders of their target areas to their election offices or visit them for canvassing.

Founded by Sikh ruler Hari Singh Nalva in 1822, Haripur district is stretched over 1,725sq-km, with 45 union councils and a population of 692,228, according to the 1998 census. The district’s female population of 346,667 outnumbers the male population and it has a literacy rate of 53.9 per cent.

Despite the fact that population has crossed 800,000, Haripur continues to have one National Assembly seat (NA-19) and four provincial assembly seats -- PF-49, PF-50, PF-51 and PF-52. There are a total of 484,252 registered voters in the district.

Senior politician and PML-Q leader Gohar Ayub Khan has been representing NA-19 since 1985 and also served as the National Assembly speaker and foreign minister in the Nawaz Sharif government.

In the 2002 election, he passed the mantle onto to the third generation of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, pitting his son Omar Ayub Khan against PML-N’s provincial chief Pir Sabir Shah. Young Omar won the election on the ticket of PML-Q, securing 81,496 votes while Pir Sabir Shah bagged 61,399 votes.

Omar has served as minister of state for finance in Shaukat Aziz’s cabinet and is again contesting to retain his native seat as a PML-Q nominee.

Other contenders he will face in the Feb 18 election are PML-N’s Sardar Mohammad Mushtaq and Dr Raja Amer Zaman, Syed Waqar Shah and Dr Riaz Beg who are contesting as independent candidates.

From PF-49, former provincial minister Raja Faisal Zaman is contesting on the ticket of JUI-F. Raja Sheeraz Haider of the PML-N, Sardar Ahmed Yar Jang of the PML-Q, Saleem Akhtar Awan of the PPP and Mian Hamid Awan of the MQM are the other contenders from this constituency.

Former PML-Q MPA Qazi Mohammad Asad (independent), Arshad Ayub Khan (independent), Dr Faiza Rasheed (PPP), Dr Riaz Beg (independent), Dr Mumtaz Hashmi (JUI-F) and Sheryar Khan (independent) are contesting from PF-50.

For PF-51, former MMA provincial minister Akhtar Nawaz Khan (independent), Syed Ibrahim Shah (JUI-F) and Advocate Zulfiqar Khan (PML-N) are contenders.

In the PF-52 constituency, the fight is between PML-N provincial chief Pir Sabir Shah and Mohammad Fahd, younger brother of former PML-Q MPA Faisal Zaman, and Farooq Shah, an independent candidate.

However, the current rain spell has crippled election campaigns in the district and candidates are facing difficulties in reaching the people, adds Our Swabi Correspondent.

Leaders of various political parties said it was very difficult for them to contact people because they were not ready to come out of their homes to attend corner meetings.

They are also facing problems to select meeting venues as streets in the city have become a muddy field.

“In such situation, how could they be convinced?” asked Mukhtiar Khan, a candidate of the Awami National Party from PF-33. “We don’t know how to handle the situation.”

According to the local Met office, the rain might continue till Friday.