LANDI KOTAL: The Pakistan People’s Party has decided to contest the upcoming general elections on the two National Assembly seats in Khyber Agency without forming alliance with other political parties.

The decision comes amid desertion by some diehard and senior party workers.

PPP, Khyber Agency, president Hazrat Wali told Dawn that his cabinet had firmly decided to contest the next elections alone believing in case of going for electoral alliance option, the party would have to make political compromises and ignore manifesto to please allies.

He said the party had yet to name candidates for two National Assembly seats in Khyber Agency.

Leader insists electoral alliances mean making political compromises, ignoring manifesto

Mr Wali blamed the PPP’s poor performance in the agency during the last two elections on weak organisational structure and inefficiency of the then office-bearers in Fata.

“Our previous party leadership in Fata failed to capitalise on the positive steps taken by our two governments for administrative reforms in tribal areas, especially the extension of the Political Parties Act, 2002,” he said.

The PPP leader said he had strengthened the party in the agency by creating women’s wing for the first time.

He said the party also had the teachers’ forum, labour bureau, youth and student organisations and an active cabinet of minority groups.

Meanwhile, PPP founding members from Bara Malik Waris Khan and Zar Hussain Afridi distanced themselves from the party.

Malik Waris, a state minister for States and Frontier Regions in the 1988 PPP-led federal government, said he would contest the next elections from Bara constituency as an independent candidate.

He also remained PPP Fata chief organiser for around a decade before being succeeded by Akhunzada Chattan of Bajaur Agency.

Also, Zar Hussain Afridi, a former PPP, Khyber Agency, president, announced he had resigned from the party’s basic membership over the central leadership deviating from the party’s basic ideology.

He told Dawn that the PPP stood no chance of making a significant mark in the agency in the next elections as its organisational structure was very weak.

“The party will struggle to find suitable candidates for the two Khyber Agency seats,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2018