SIALKOT: A close contest is expected between the candidates of PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Sambrial city’s NA-76 Sialkot-V constituency.

The PTI has fielded retired Brig Muhammad Aslam Ghumman against PML-N’s Rana Shamim Ahmed Khan, a former MNA.

Mr Ghumman is a former director general of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab, but is new to politics. While Rana Shamim is a veteran and well-experienced politician that gave an edge to the PML-N here.

Sambrial tehsil has traditionally been a PML-N stronghold. Mr Ghumman’s younger brother Muhammad Azeem Noori Ghumman, a former PML-Q-backed MPA, is contesting for PP-44 Sialkot-X against PML-N’s former MPA Chaudhry Arshad Javaid Warraich. The PML-N candidates, Rana Shamim and Arshad Warraich, were both going door to door for their campaign.

There were 469,826 registered voters in NA-76 for which eight candidates were in the run. Besides the PML-N and PTI contestants, others were Chaudhry Khaleequr Rehman of the Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek, Chaudhry Muhammad Ameen Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Muhammad Awais Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Yasir Mushtaq Bajwa PPP and independents Mudassar Saleem Baryar and Qasim Ali.

Twelve candidates were vying for the tehsil’s PP-44 constituency, including Warraich, Azeem Ghumman, Rafi Muhammad of the TLP, Ansar Junaid Cheema All Pakistan Muslim League, Muhammad Shahid Ghumman PPP, Malik Imran Awan Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek and independents Arsal Waqar Ghumman, Chaudhry Muhammad Anwar, Zulfiqar, Tariq Mehmood and Muhammad Shafiq Butt.

The various biradries that these candidates belonged to will divide the votes and mainly benefit the PML-N and PTI. Three main biradries -- Rajput, Ghumman and Sheikh -- had always played a key role in local politics.

In the 2013 general elections, PML-N candidate Rana Shamim had won by bagging 127,437 votes against PTI’s Salman Saif Cheema, who managed to poll 36,632 votes. The PPP’s Ejaz Cheema got 23,194 votes, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Muhammad Awais Ghumman 7,228 votes, APML’s Bilal Hussain Gondal 3,376, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Abdul Qayyum Bajwa 1,250 votes.

ARRESTS: Satrah police registered a case against two candidates of TLP and 60 others for taking out an election procession against a ban on such activity.

The case was registered under Section 188 of the PPC on the report of Assistant Sub-Inspector Basharat Ali.

The first information report stated that Arsalan Zafar, a candidate for NA-75, Muhammad Arif for PP-41 and their 60 companions took out a procession in Dharam Kot, Satrah in Daska tehsil, against a ban. The suspects could not be arrested until the filing of this report.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2018