MANSEHRA: Two activists of Awami National Party’s Torghar chapter have decided to contest the local body polls as independents after the party’s provincial parliamentary board refused them tickets for tehsil mayors’ slots.

ANP’s former tehsil nazim Shahzad Shah and Sher Afzal Khan on Sunday announced to run as independents for the mayors’ slots of Kundar Hassanzai and Dor Mera tehsils after the parliamentary board led by provincial president Aimal Wali Khan did not issue them tickets.

Shahzad Shah, Yunus Khan and Said Nawab Gul, a former deputy district nazim, had applied for the ticket of the mayor’s office of Kundar Hassanzai tehsil, but the ANP board issued ticket to Mr Gul.

Similarly, Abdul Qadeer Khan and Sher Afzal Khan had applied for Dor Mera tehsil mayor slot, but the board issued the ticket to the former.

In the Judbah tehsil, the ANP has awarded ticket to Mohammad Akram Khan.

“The ANP’s provincial parliamentary board led by provincial president Aimal Wali Khan has finalised names of the candidates in all three tehsils of the district, and those defying the decision will face disciplinary action,” party’s district president Zahid Khan asserted.

HAZARA PROVINCE: Deputy convener Sobah Hazara Tehreek and former federal minister Qasim Shah has said more federating units are need of the hour and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government should implement the parliamentary resolutions in this regard.

“We not only want Hazara province but also more federating units in the country for better governance and fair distribution of resources,” Mr Shah told mediapersons here on Sunday.

He said Sobah Hazara Tehreek had recently organised public meetings to compel the government to create more federating units.

He said as the government had been consulting other political parties for creation of southern Punjab province, so it should also initiate such a process for Hazara province. He said the prime minister and his party leaders had promised giving the Hazara division the status of a province.

Mr Shah said local bodies were the foundation of democratic system, but the successive governments had not devolved power to the grassroots levels to serve the people in a better way.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2022