QUETTA, Nov 26: A total of 1,488 candidates have filed their nomination papers for 17 national and 65 provincial assembly seats in Balochistan.

According to the Election Commission sources, 22 candidates had filed papers for three reserved seats of women in the National Assembly. For 14 general seats of the National Assembly, 313 candidates have filed their papers.

A total of 1,064 candidates have submitted nominations for 51 general seats of the Balochistan assembly. For 11 provincial assembly seats reserved for women, 53 candidates have filed their papers. Thirty-six papers have submitted papers for three seats reserved for minorities in the provincial assembly.

Although the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) is taking part in the elections, its chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai has not filed nomination papers from any constituency. It is for the first time he is not contesting the polls. However, his younger brother Hamid Khan has field nomination papers for a National Assembly seat.

Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, chief of the National Party, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, president of Balochistan National Party (Mengal), Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti, president of his own faction of the Jamhoori Watan Party, and Dr Hakeem Baloch, president of the Balochistan National Congress, are other prominent leaders who are not contesting the elections.

Another faction of the Jamhoori Watan Party headed by Nawabzada Baramdagh Bugti has already announced the boycott of elections.

However, other leaders of the PMAP, National Party and BNP (Mengal) have submitted nomination papers.

Former prime minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali has filed papers as independent candidate for a NA seat from the Naseerabad-Jaffarabad area. Former Balochistan chief minister Mir Taj Mohammad Khan Jamali has filed papers from the same constituency on PPP’s ticket. Deputy Senate chairman Mir Jan Mohammad Khan Jamali has filed his papers from Usta Mohammad for a PA seat as an independent candidate. His close relative Mir Haider Ali Jamali has also field papers from the same constituency on PML’s ticket.

Former governor Abdul Qadir Baloch has filed papers as independent candidate from NA-259 (Quetta).

Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi has submitted papers as independent candidate for a PA seat.

Nawabzada Mir Changez Khan Marri, brother of slain BLA leader Balach Kan Marri, has filed papers for both the national and provincial assembly seats.

Jam Mir Mohammad Yousuf and Mohammad Aslam Bhootani have submitted papers for both national and provincial assembly seats.

Former ministers Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, Zubaida Jalal, Mir Baz Mohammad Khatran, Sardar Yaqoob Nasar, Sardar Fateh Mohamad Hasni and Nawab Aslam Raisani, PPP provincial president Nawabzada Lashkri Raisani, Mir Mohammad Sadiq Umrani, Syed Ehsan Shah, Mulana Abdul Wasay, Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Malik Sarwar Khan Kakar, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, Hafiz Hussian Ahmed and former governor Syed Fazal Agha have also filed their nomination papers for national and provincial assembly seats.