PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party has announced it will not field its candidates in the by-elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa constituencies where candidates of rival parties had died ahead of the July 25 general elections.

Besides, the party will take action against its leaders and workers who had violated the discipline and extended support to the rival parties’ candidates against the party’s own candidates. A source in the party told this correspondent on Tuesday that violations had been reported in many areas, including Malakand and Shangla districts.

It was learnt that some senior people instead of running election campaign for party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in NA-8 Malakand in the July 25 general elections had voted for the rival parties’ candidates and thus the PPP candidates, including Mr Bilawal, provincial president Mohammad Humayun Khan (PK-14 Batkhela) and Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha (PK-19 Dargai) lost the election.

Not to contest polls in areas where candidates of rival parties died

In PK-23 Shangla, the party people openly supported Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate Shaukat Yousufzai in the by-election and did not field own candidate from the constituency.

According to a statement, party’s provincial president Humayun Khan said that the PPP workers would vote for the widow of Haroon Bilour in by-election in PK-78, Peshawar. Haroon Bilour, an ANP candidate, had lost his life in a suicide attack during election campaign in July this year.

The ANP has awarded the ticket to Mr Bilour’s widow for the provincial assembly seat where JUI-F has also announced support for her. The PPP leader urged his party workers to extend cooperation to the ANP candidate and ensure her success.

The PPP will also not nominate its candidate against PTI candidate in Dera Ismail Khan where Ikramullah Gandapur was killed in a suicide attack during his election campaign. It was stated that PPP would not accept the results of July 25 general elections, but it would continue to work for strengthening of democracy.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2018