LAHORE: Nomination papers of 26 candidates have been accepted by the returning officer (RO) for the by-election in the National Assembly’s constituency NA-129, Lahore XIII.

The seat fell vacant after the death of Mian Azhar, the father of Hammad Azhar of the PTI.

According to the list issued by the RO on Monday, candidatures of PTI leaders Hammad Azhar and Bajash Khan Niazi, PML-N’s Rana Mashhood, Mehr Ishtiaq and Hafiz Nauman, PPP’s Tahira Habib Jalib and Asif Mahmood Nagra, besides 19 others have been accepted.

Meanwhile, senior PPP leader Faisal Mir hopes that the old and ideological families of Lahore will participate in the elections of Tahira Jalib while their silence will mean the support of billionaire politicians. He was addressing a press conference along with Tahira Habib, the daughter of revolutionary poet Habib Jalib, on Monday.

Hoping to win the NA-129 by-poll, Tahira called herself a labourer as she was earning her livelihood as a taxi driver and sought support from journalists and politicians in the election.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2025