MANSEHRA: The office-bearers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Mansehra district, have warned that they along with workers will stage a sit-in outside party chief Imran Khan’s Banigala mansion if the leadership doesn’t withdraw election tickets from women candidates in the district.

“First our traditions don’t allow the election nomination of women and second the two candidates are not electable and therefore, their tickets should be withdrawn. If the party doesn’t meet our demand, we’ll stage a sit-in outside the Banigala mansion,” PTI district vice-president Razaullah Khan told a meeting here.

The meeting was called to discuss the future line of action over the election nominations by the party in Mansehra district’s PK-30 and PK-34 constituencies.

PTI has fielded Maria Fatima in PK-30 and Zahida Sabeel in PK-34.

“Women candidates are unacceptable to workers and if their tickets aren’t withdrawn and aren’t given to winning aspirants, then the party will certainly lose those seats,” he said.

PTI leader Taimur Raza said both aspirants Shahzada Gustasab Khan and Saeed Khan should sit together to decide about election nomination but a woman contender was completely unacceptable.

Mr Gustasab later filed his nomination papers for PK-34, where the party has fielded Zahida Sabeel as candidate.

He also filed papers in NA-13, where his group is backing independent candidate and PML-N dissident Salah Mohammad Khan.

TRANSGENDER PERSON IN POLLS: President of the Shemale Association, Hazara division, Maria Khan on Monday filed her nomination papers to contest the coming elections in PK-31 promising effective resolution of the local residents’ problems after election.

“We (transgender persons) are not corrupt like politicians. If the people elect me as MPA, I’ll address water and electricity problems here on a priority basis,” she told reporters after filing nomination papers here.

Ms Maria, who is the first transgender person in Mansehra’s history to contest general elections, will face strong candidates of political and religious parties.

SAFDAR NOMINATION: PML-N candidate Mohammad Safdar Awan on Monday appeared before NA-14 returning officer for the scrutiny of his nomination papers.

He later told reporters here that he, his wife Maryam Nawaz and his father-in-law Nawaz Sharif weren’t afraid of cases being heard by courts.

“The cases are registered against us under a conspiracy to derail the process of national progress. We have never been afraid of them and will continue facing them courageously,” he told reporters at the district courts here.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2018