NOWSHERA: Pakistan Peoples Party, Nowshera chapter, has launched mass contact campaign as the party has started inviting applications from aspiring candidates for contesting the forthcoming general elections on national and provincial assembly seats in the district.

The party has formed a parliamentary board for Peshawar division headed by Liaqat Shabab, which has invited applications from the willing candidates for the provincial and national assembly seats by May 3.

“Though we have started the mass contact drive later compared to other parties in Nowshera, the workers’ response is positive. The party candidates will have to work hard if they want to compete with other parties in the coming elections,” a PPP senior leader requesting not to be named told Dawn on Sunday.

Meanwhile, party sources said Mian Feroz Jamal Shah Kakakhel and Saidullah Khan, PPP general secretary, Nowshera, had started wooing voters in NA-25 and NA-26, while Jaffar Khattak of Shaidu had also started contacting the people.

They said for provincial assembly seats, former district nazim Daud Kahttak and tehsil president Pabbi Mohammad Ilyas were active in PK-65; Yousaf Jamal Kakakhel, Syed Raza Babar, Syed Iftikhar Ali Shah, and Malik Himayat were running the campaign in PK-66. PPP divisional president Laiqat Shabab is generating political activity in PK-67, Najeebullah Khattak and Munir Khan Khattak in PK-68.

The sources said Dr Nisar and Pir Mohammad Aslam and Malik Hidayat Khan, who had also started masses contact drive, were likely to submit their applications for contesting elections on PK-69.

Dr Nisar of Kheshgi, a staunch PPP leader, was also party’s candidate for Senate on a technocrat seat. He has a good reputation in the party and is a hard worker. Pir Aslam recently joined PPP after quitting Awami National Party. The sources said he might also quit PPP if the parliamentary board did not award him poll ticket.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2018