SWABI, Sept 17: Three candidates have emerged as contestants for the district nazim slot after the scrutiny of nomination papers, with only the papers of a minority leader rejected. The candidates are: Shahram Khan, candidate of an eight-party alliance, Swabi Jamhoori Ittehad (SJI), while Amanullah Khan is a joint candidate of the Awam Dost Group and Swabi Roshankhayal Group and MPA Dr Muhammad Salim MPA is the Swabi Qaumi Mahaz (SQM) nominee.

The SQM and SJI leaders would hold wide-ranging talks for contesting election from a joint platform on Sunday and if they strike a deal, there would be one-to-one contest.

“I think that they would conclude an agreement because both the groups are anti-ANP and the SQM talks with the ANP have already failed,” an insider told Dawn.

For tehsil Swabi nazim slot, Najeem Khan of the SJI, Hanif Jadoon of the ADG and SRG, Iqbal Ahmad Khan of the SQM and independent candidate Shah Wali Khan are contesting election.

However, sources said the latter had only filed the nomination papers and was not interested in contesting election.

Shahroom Khan of the ADG and SRG and Shamsher Khan of the SJI are contesting election for tehsil Chota Lahor nazim slot.

GIK Institute: A university based in the United Kingdom has donated sophisticated data logging equipment to the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology.

“The system is worth 20,000 pounds sterling. It will be utilised for research in the area of experimental stress analysis,” said the institute’s rector Dr Abdullah Sadiq on Friday.

He said that the equipment had been donated by the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, as part of its collaboration with Dr Muhammad Abid of the GIK Institute.

Earlier in 2002, he said,

Dr Abid’s PhD supervisor,

Dr David Nash of the University of Strathclyde, had donated a test rig worth about

25,000 pounds sterling to the institute.