PESHAWAR, Oct 22: The provincial executive council of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) on Tuesday nominated Mohammad Akram Khan Durrani, the MPA-elect from PF-70, Bannu, its parliamentary leader in the NWFP assembly.

The nomination of Mr Durrani was expected as Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had already announced Mr Durrani its candidate for the chief minister’s slot after the MMA secured 48 seats in the NWFP assembly, out of total 99, in the Oct 10 elections.

Announcing the name of Mr Durrani at a press conference, JUI-F provincial general secretary Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan said that the council had endorsed the decision of the MMA.

The JUI’s executive council met here at Darul Ulom Sarhad with provincial chief Maulana Amanullah in the chair. JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and general secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri also attended the meeting.

Mr Durrani, a law graduate from Karachi university, was the party’s parliamentary leader in the last provincial assembly.

Earlier, Maulana Mufti Mahmood, the father of Maulana Fazalur Rehman, had served as chief minister of the NWFP in the early seventies. He had led the JUI-NAP coalition, but had to resign in protest after the end of the coalition in Balochistan.