MANSEHRA, Sept 24: Three women are contesting for the general provincial assembly seats in Hazara.

Former provincial minister Habibur Rehman Tanoli, who is serving sentence in a corruption reference, has put up his daughter, Ghazala Habib Tanoli, for PF-57, Mansehra-VI. She is the wife of Aurangzeb Assad, a former president of Mansehra District Bar Association.

Habib Tanoli’s opponent of the past elections, former provincial assembly member Sakhi Mohammad Tanoli, hit by the graduation condition, has fielded his son, Naeem Sakhi Tanoli. A tough contest is expected on the seat.

However, the people of Tanawal area dislike the holding of a public office by a woman and Ghazala Habib has not made any public appearance except some corner meetings in enclosures with women voters.

Some people express their concern that if she is elected, how they would contact the veiled representative.  

Nargis Ali of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf is contesting for PF-54, Mansehra-II, and Shamim Akbar Seemi of the Qaumi Jamhoori Party for PF-44, Abbottabad-I.

Nargis Ali, who hails from Mardan and is married to a building designer, Ali Asghar, of Paras village in Kaghan valley, is an LLB.

She will face  Sardar Abdul Khaliq Poswal of Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam), Syed Mazhar Ali Qasim, son of the ex-senator Syed Qasim Shah, Qari Mohammad Afzal of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and Maulvi Abdul Ghafoor of the PML-N.

Shamim Seemi will face Shamaroz Khan Jadoon of the People’s Party Parliamentarians, Mushtaq Ghani of the PML-QA, Inayatullah Khan of PML-N and Muzaffar Khan of MMA.