MANSEHRA: The Awami National Party (ANP) leadership has taken flak from its activists in Torghar district over the nomination of Zareen Gul Bacha for the forthcoming general elections.

They held a meeting in Kunder Hassanzai area on Saturday and complained that party’s provincial president Aimal Khan and general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak and Torghar district president Zahid Khan didn’t consult them before deciding about an election ticket for Torghar.

The meeting was attended by members of the party’s district cabinet except president Zahid Khan as well as workers in large numbers.

ANP district general secretary Asghar Khan, who was present in the meeting, said the election nomination of Zareen Gul Bacha was unacceptable to party activists in Torghar.

Party activists also flay expulsion of ex-lawmaker Laiq Mohammad

He said the participants also criticised the provincial leadership for terminating the party’s basic membership of former lawmaker Laiq Mohammad Khan.

“We reject both the election nomination of Zareen Gul and expulsion of Laiq Khan. The provincial leadership took these two decisions without bothering to consult the party’s district body and workers. These unilateral moves are unacceptable,” he said.

Mr Asghar warned if the election ticket wasn’t withdrawn from Zareen Gul, the party’s district body and activists were free to decide about who to support in the coming elections.

Former deputy district nazim Said Nawab Gul told participants that Torghar had been the ANP’s stronghold since its provincial government declared Torghar a settled district in 2011.

He warned if the party didn’t change its decision about Zareen Gul’s nomination, it would suffer a major setback in polls.

Noted among participants were local ANP leaders Akram Khan, Mama Gul, Fazl Raheem, Saleemullah, Zargul Jamal, Nazir Hameed and Younas Gondal.

PTI POLL CAMPAIGN: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders have become politically active in Hazara division as the Election Commission of Pakistan announced the holding of general elections on Feb 8.

Most of them had gone into hiding to avoid arrest after the May 9 attacks on the government and Pakistan Army’s buildings in the country.

PTI leader and former divisional information secretary of the party Ajmal Khan Swati told Dawn that the party had begun campaigning for next polls in the district, which had two National Assembly and five provincial assembly seats.

Hesaid the PTI had decided to field Umar Nawaz Khan, the son of former minister Haq Nawaz, as NA-14 candidate in the upcoming elections instead of Senator Azam Khan Swati, who had gone underground to avoid arrest.

“Umar Nawaz Khan is most likely to be the PTI’s candidate against the nominees of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and PTI-Parliamentarians in elections,” he said.

The PTI, which has announced the holding of a worker’s convention in the heart of the city on Nov 5, is in contact with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and Pakistan Peoples Party to field a joint candidate in Mansehra’s NA-15 constituency against the PML-N’s likely candidate, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, according to Mr Swati.

“We expect that [PML-N supremo] Nawaz Sharif will contest next elections in NA-15, so we’re trying to convince the JUI-F and PPP to challenge him together,” he said.

The PTI leader said his party was likely to award election tickets to former lawmaker Nawabzada Fareed for Oghi, Zahid Chanzeb for Tanawal-cum-Pakhal and Mushtaq Khan for Balakot.

Meanwhile, member of the PTI’s central executive committee Aftab Shah, who was held by Islamabad police earlier this year and freed on bail, announced that he would contest election from his native area, PK-37.

CRACKDOWN: Police on Saturday began a crackdown on outlaws in parts of Mansehra district.

District police officer Zahoor Babar Afridi had ordered the crackdown directing SHOs of all police stations to ensure the arrest of all those wanted for heinous crimes in their respective areas and their harbourers.

The police arrested many proclaimed offenders in raids in Pulrah, Shinkiari, Battal, Darband, Oghi and Lassan Nawab areas.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2023