SWABI: The candidates for upcoming general elections used the Eidul Fitr greetings during the last three days as poll campaign to get support of voters.

Like other parts of KhyberPakhtunkuwa, Eidul Fitr was celebrated in Swabi on Friday and candidates visited the hujras of people in their constituencies to influence the voters.

In the past, the leaders of different political parties would sit in their hujras and their supporters would visit them for two days to exchange Eid greetings with them. However, this time politicians adopted the new strategy to visit the hujras of people in their constituencies and convey their message to them.

“The people don’t work on Eid days and sit in their hujras to enjoy the festival. The politicians availed the opportunity to influence the voters,” said Liaquat Ali of Maneri Bala village.

He said that the candidates stayed only for a few minutes at a hujra and soon after exchanging greetings with the people rushed to another.

Abdul Karim, a former MPA who recently joined PTI and a candidate for PK-45, said that in their cultural environment visit by a political leader to someone’s hujra was considered an honour that helped the candidates to get support of voters. Qayyum Khan, a supporter of former MPA Babar Saleem, a candidate of PML-N for PK-44, saidthat Mr Babar usually visited their hujra but it was the first that he visited them on the Eid day. “We were really delighted,” he said.

Sher Ali Khan, a resident of Naro Kallay, told Dawn that ANP candidate for PK-44 Gul Zamin Shah visited their residence just for Eid greeting.

FIRING: Police failed to prevent people from firing in the air and use of firecrackers during Eid days in the district. Soon after announcement of Eid, the people started firing in the air despite the warning by police and a campaign by the department against it. Every village in the district echoed with the firing on moon sighting night.

The local elders said that it was true that firing in the air was a tradition but people should give up the practice.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2018