MANSEHRA: All three independent MPAs-elect from Kohistan regions have agreed to join the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

“We met all MPAs elected from three constituencies of Kohistan as independents and convinced them to join our party. They will announce that in the next 24 hours,” PTI, Hazara division, president Zargul Khan told reporters here on Monday.

Among those lawmakers are Didar Khan of PK-25, Maulana Abdul Ghafar of PK-26 and Mufti Obaidullah of PK-27.

Mr Zargul said he leading a PTI delegation met all three MPAs-elect and invited them to join the party.

He said the meeting was also attended by elders of the local tribes, which supported the winning candidates.

“All three agreed to join the PTI in large public interest,” he said.

Also in the day, Zargul Khan formally requested the NA-14 returning officer for re-polling in the constituency.

He claimed that thousands of voters failed to exercise their franchise in the July 25 elections as they didn’t found their names on the voter lists issued for their respective polling stations.

The PTI leader said the voter lists of some polling stations were mistakenly exchanged with others in the constituency. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Mohammad Sajjad, elder brother of retired captain Mohammad Safdar, was declared the NA-14 winner by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

JI LOBBYING: The Jamaat-i-Islami has begun lobbying to recapture the office of the tehsil’s naib.

The office had fallen vacant lately after former naib nazim Qazi Zahidullah of the JI stepped down to contest the July25 elections in PK-33.

Mr Zahidullah, who had lost elections, has begun lobbying to reclaim the naib nazim’s office.

JI district chief Sajjad Hussain Shah has tasked Mr Zahidullah with contacting members of the Oghi tehsil council as the party would announce his candidature for the naib nazim’s office after the Election Commission of Pakistan issued schedule for its elections.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2018