PESHAWAR, Aug 21: Awami National Party (ANP) and People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) reached an understanding to field joint candidates on the four National Assembly and 11 provincial assembly seats of Peshawar district, here on Wednesday.
The political foes of the past shunned their bitter differences as a result of the recently held series of meetings between the two sides and agreed to cooperate during the up-coming elections at the Peshawar district level.
The understanding between ANP and PPP — an off-shoot of the Pakistan People’s Party — was reached at here on Wednesday during a meeting between the two sides.
Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Syed Aaqil Shah, Bashir Bilour, Hidayatullah Chamkani and Haji Mohammed Adeel represented the ANP, whereas, the new entity PPP was represented by Khawaja Mohammed Khan Hoti, Yawar Naseer, Khizar Hayat and Syed Ayub Shah.
It would be the first ever alliance — for general elections — between the two parties after they have been contesting elections with full vigour against each other since 1988.
During all the past elections, PPP has been bracing the joint candidates of ANP and PML in Peshawar district, except for the by-elections in 1988 during which the former supported the ANP’s Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour in NA-1.
As per their understanding, of the four NA seats of Peshawar district, both parties would support each other’s candidates on two each seats.
Similarly, out of the 11 seats of the provincial assembly, PPP would support ANP’s candidates on six seats, whereas on the remaining five seats of the provincial assembly from Peshawar, ANP would lend support to PPP candidates.
The ANP would support PPP candidates on NA-2 (Peshawar-2) and NA-3 (Peshawar-3).
On the remaining two NA seats from Peshawar — NA-1 (Peshawar-1) and NA-4 (Peshawar-4]) — PPP would support ANP-fielded candidates.
The six provincial assembly seats on which PPP would support ANP’s candidates are PF-3, PF-5, PF-6, PF-8, PF-10 and PF-11.
The remaining five seats of the provincial assembly from Peshawar on which ANP would support the PPP candidates include PF-1, PF-2, PF-4, PF-7 and PF-9.
The electoral track record of the two parties during the last four held elections places their joint candidates better to record a clean sweep in the forthcoming elections.
Like Peshawar, sources said, the two sides might also develop seat-to-seat adjustment for the up-coming elections for other districts of the NWFP.