PESHAWAR, July 30: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) has shortlisted the names of candidates for all National Assembly and provincial assembly seats in the NWFP and a final list would be formulated soon, according to party sources.

The JUI-F’s provincial council, scheduled to meet on Aug 2 here, will select two names for each seat — a main candidate and a ‘covering candidate’.

Later, they said, the JUI-F would match its candidates with those of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in order to finalise the names of candidates of the alliance.

Sources said the party’s provincial council had received names of candidates from all districts.

The JUI-F’s provincial information secretary, Haji Jalil Jan, said the district chapter of the party had selected names of three candidates each for National Assembly and provincial assembly seats. The province has 35 NA and 99 provincial assembly general seats.

He said that if the provincial council failed to finalise names of the potential candidates then the matter would be referred to the party’s parliamentary board.

He said that the party’s provincial council had also received names of the candidates from seven tribal agencies and six Frontier Regions of the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas.

Interestingly, the JUI-F has started a women’s membership drive in the NWFP. Under the programme, which is the party’s first, recruitment of new members had already begun in 12 districts of the province.