Islamabad [Pakistan], January 22 (ANI): Ahead of the general elections on February 8, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) released the list of contesting candidates from all provinces on Sunday, Dawn News reported. According to the ECP schedule, January 12 was the last date for the withdrawal of candidature and publication of the revised list of candidates. However, it was delayed due to litigation.
On Feb 8, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) former provincial health minister, Yasmin Rashid will face off in National Assembly-130, Lahore, in a heated electoral battle. Sharif is also contesting from NA-15 (Mansehra) where the opponents include Gustasif Khan of the PTI and Jamiart-e-Islami-Fazal’s (JUI-F) Mufti Kifayatullah.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif will run from NA-123 (Lahore) and NA-132 (Kasur). In Lahore, he will face Afzaal Azeem of the PTI and Liaqat Baloch of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Dawn News reported. In Kasur, Sharif’s rival candidates are Mohammad Ali Dogar of the PTI and Shaheen Safdar of the PPP. Maryam Nawaz will contest the election from NA-119 (Lahore), where she will be facing Mian Abaad Farooque of the PTI and Iftikhar Shahid of the PPP.
Similarly, Hamza Shehbaz, former Punjab chief minister and Shehbaz Sharif’s son, is vying for NA-118 (Lahore), where he will be up against vocal PTI leader and former parliamentary secretary Aliya Hamza, Mohammad Afzal Khan of the JUI-F, and Shahid Abbas of the PPP. Maryam and Hamza are also contesting on provincial assembly seats from Lahore.
As per the Dawn News, the former president Asif Ali Zardari will contest elections from NA-207 (Shaheed Benazirabad). He will face Sardar Sher Mohammad Rind Baloch of the PTI. His son and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is contesting the elections from three NA constituencies, two from his home province of Sindh and one from NA-127 Lahore, where he will be facing PML-N’s Ataullah Tarar and Chaudhry Shabbir Gujjar of the PTI. In NA-194 (Larkana), he will be facing Maulana Rashid Mahmood Soomro of the JUI-F and PTI Senator Saifullah Abro, whereas Habibullah of the PTI will be challenging him in NA-196 (Qambar Shahdadkot).
Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani will vie for NA-148 (Multan) where he will face PTI’s Barrister Taimur Malik and PML-N’s Ahmad Hussain. In NA-151 (Multan), his son Ali Moosa Gilani will contest polls against Mehr Bano Qureshi, daughter of PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi. In NA-149 (Multan), Jehangir Tareen of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Amir Dogar of the PTI will come face to face.
In NA-122 (Lahore), Khawaja Saad Rafiq is expected to have a tough contest with PTI’s Sardar Latif Khosa. In NA-128 Lahore), PTI-backed Salman Akram Raja will face IPP’s Mohammad Aun Saqlain. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is vying for two NA seats — NA-44 Dera Ismail Khan in KP and NA-265 Pishin-cum-Ziarat in Balochistan. In D.I. Khan, he will be facing PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur and PPP’s Faisal Karim Kundi. In Pishin, his rivals include Syed Zahoor Agha of the PTI.
In NA-241 (Karachi) Dr Farooq Sattar will be facing PTI’s Khurram Sher Zaman. In NA-242 (Karachi), MQM leader Mustafa Kamal will face Qadir Khan Mandokhel of the PPP and PTI’s Dawa Khan. In NA-54 (Rawalpindi), two former federal ministers and traditional rivals Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan (independent) and Ghulam Sarwar of the IPP will come face to face again. Azar Masood of PTI is also in the race. In NA-56 (Rawalpindi), Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid and PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi are vying for the NA seat. PTI’s Shahryar Riaz is also a candidate from the constituency.
PTI leader Gohar Ali Khan is contesting from NA-10 (Buner) against former PTI MNA Sher Akbar Khan, who is vying for the seat from PTI-P platform. Former minister Omar Ayub Khan is contesting from NA-18 (Haripur) against Babar Nawaz of the PML-N. Former NA speaker Asad Qaiser of the PTI is running the race for NA-19 (Swabi). Aimal Wali Khan, ANP’s KP chapter president and grandson of the late Wali Khan, is contesting against Maulana Gohar Shah of the JUI-F in NA-25 (Charsadda). PTI-P chief Pervez Khattak is vying for NA-33 (Nowshera) besides two provincial assembly seats in the same district, where PTI has fielded Syed Shahid Ali Shah as its candidate. (ANI)
Pakistan: ECP categorises 17,500 polling stations as highly sensitive
Islamabad [Pakistan], January 22 (ANI): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has categorised over 17,500 polling stations as highly sensitive, 32,508 as sensitive, and 42,500 as normal out of a total of 92,500 polling stations nationwide, ARY News reported. Polling stations are categorised into A, B, and C groups, determined by their sensitivity levels, sources said.
Out of over 17,500 polling stations designated as highly sensitive across the country due to concerns about potential unrest, 6,599 are in Punjab and 4,430 are in Sindh, all of which are set to be monitored by CCTV cameras.
A total of 2,038 polling stations in Balochistan and 4,344 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been categorised as highly sensitive, as per ARY News. In Pakistan‘s Punjab, 15,829 polling stations are classified as sensitive, 8,030 in Sindh, 2,068 in Balochistan, and over 6,000 polling stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fall under the sensitive category. The official polling scheme is to be revealed 15 days before the scheduled February 8 general elections.
The ECP earlier released a code of conduct for security officials who will be deployed during the upcoming general elections scheduled for February 8, 2024. The code of conduct binds the security officials, excluding the Armed Forces and Civil Armed Forces, to perform their duty in accordance with the law and cooperate with the presiding officers, returning officers (ROs) and polling staff. (ANI)
