KHAR: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq has claimed that his party and JUI-F, the two major components of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, have nominated their candidates in tribal areas with consensus.

Talking to this correspondent during his visit to Bajaur, he said that differences betweenhis party and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl over nomination of candidates for the National Assembly seats in the tribal areas had been resolved amicably.

Mr Haq, who is also vice-president of MMA, said that the decision to finalise candidates for the tribal areas had been made during a meeting of MMA’s senior leaders a few days ago. He said that tickets for four of total 12 seats of National Assembly had been given to JI and the rest to JUI-F candidates. He said that two seats of National Assembly in Bajaur and one each in Khyber and Mohmand regions had been awarded to JI candidates.

However, the JI leader said that a proper notification in this regard would be issued soon by MMA president Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

When asked that election symbols had already been allotted, he said that the JI candidates would contest the polls on the symbols allotted to them. The JI chief, however, said that allotment of tickets in tribal areas and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had unnecessary been delayed.

Meanwhile, the JUI-F local chapter on Wednesday rejected the JI chief’s statement about award of MMA tickets to its two election candidates in Bajaur.

According to a press statement issued here, the JUI-F local chapter leadership rejected the JI chief’s claim that both the JI candidates in Bajaur would be MMA nominees. It said that JUI-F Bajaur chief Abdul Rasheed was the MMA nominee for NA- 40 and it would not withdraw its candidate.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2018