KOHAT: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed candidates for the national and provincial assembly seats in Kohat are likely to get the sympathy vote as the party has been deprived of its electoral symbol ‘bat’ and the senior leadership is languishing in jail amid continuing ‘victimisation’ of workers post-May 9, 2023 incidents, observers said here on Tuesday.

PTI leader and former state minister Shehryar Afridi is vying for NA-35, PTI district president Aftab Alam for PK-90, Daud Afridi for PK-91 and Shafi Jan for PK-92.

Observers said Mr Alam and three-time MPA and former minister Amjid Afridi were going neck and neck in PK-90 despite the latter changing parties since 2008. Mr Afridi is contesting on Pakistan Peoples Party ticket.

They said Mr Daud was playing on a very weak wicket against former MPA Dr Iqbal Din Fana, who had recently joined JUI-F after leaving decades-old affiliation with Jamaat-i-Islami.

The political observers said Shafi Jan would face JUI-F’s Seth Johar Saifullah, and former PTI MPA and minister Ziaullah Bangash, who has joined Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf- Parliamentarians.

It is interesting to note here that a woman candidate, Nighat Perveen Afridi, a widow of a slain army officer, who was the son of an uncle of Shehryar Afridi, is contesting against him on NA-35 as an independent candidate.

Mr Shehryar is also pitched against heavyweights like Abbas Afridi of PML-N, who has remained senator and state minister when Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister; and Seth Gohar Saifullah of JUI-F, a former district nazim, according to observers.

Abbas Afridi has relied on support offered to him in jirgas during his election campaign from various villages and towns of the whole Banagsh belt of Hangu Road, Gumbat, Babri Banda and Togh Bala.

Gohar Saifullah enjoys ‘strong’ vote bank in Sumari, Shahpur, Muhammadzai, Ustarzai, Lachi, Shakardarra and Bilitang.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party candidate from PK-92, Masood Khan Khalil has enlisted the support of a jirga of Jabbi area.

ARRESTS: In targeted operations against proclaimed offenders, their facilitators, and drug peddlers, the police rounded up 95 suspects, two facilitators of POs and two drug peddlers in Lachi, Gumbat and Bilitang tehsils.

The police also recovered two 12-bore repeaters, a shotgun, four pistols, a rifle, 10 chargers, huge quantities of cartridges, one kilogramme ice drug and two and a half kg of hashish from them.

A den used by proclaimed offenders in a mountainous area was blown up with explosives.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2024