SWABI, Dec 1: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Haqiqi) kicked off on Saturday their campaigns for the coming general elections. JUI (F) district president and former NWFP education minister Maulana Fazle Ali, who is contesting the elections from NA-13 (Swabi-11) and PF-35 (Swabi-V), said his party candidates had filed nomination papers for two National Assembly and six provincial assembly seats of the district and they had been asked to start their campaign.

The JUI (F), he said, had launched a number of projects in Swabi during the MMA government. He said the MMA government had established several educational institutions, including girls’ colleges.

He said the Government Degree College Gohati had been upgraded to the graduate level. “There were only nine colleges in the district, but now it has 15. The Fazle Ali Model School has been constructed at a cost of Rs200 million where children were being provided modern education,” he added.

Maulana Ali said that during the MMA government, 45,000 people had been provided jobs in the education department, including 5,000 from Swabi.

He said the JUI (F) would abide by any decided taken by party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman about the coming elections.

JUI (Haqiqi) chief and former MNA Maulana Khalil Ahmad said that his group would contest the elections from all national and provincial assembly seats in the district.

Maulana Khalil, who after developing differences with Maulana Fazal Ali had established his own faction, asked his party workers to approach every voter in the district.

JUI (Haqiqi) general-secretary Najeem Khan said that the JUI (F) was losing its popularity in the Swabi district as its performance during the MMA government was unsatisfactory.