PESHAWAR:
In a significant show of unity, opposition parties in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have decided to field a consensus candidate for the province’s only vacant Senate seat.
The decision was taken at a consultative meeting convened by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at Mufti Mahmood Markaz in Peshawar. The meeting, chaired by JUI central leader Maulana Ataur Rehman, was attended by senior representatives of several opposition parties.
Participants included JUI leaders Maulana Ataul Haq Darvesh, Haji Dilawar Khan, Maulana Abdul Haseeb Haqqani and Israr Ahmed; Syed Ayub Shah, Pakistan People’s Party; Hussain Shah and Nisar Baz Mohmand of the Awami National Party; Murtaza Abbasi and Malik Zarwar Khan of the PML-N; and PTI parliamentarians Habib Ali Shah, Arif Mohmand and Arbab Wasim.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Maulana Ataul Haq Darvesh said the parties held detailed consultations on fielding a common candidate in the Senate by-election. All participants agreed that since opposition parties are already united on a single platform in the Provincial Assembly, they should adopt a similar coordinated approach for the Senate seat.
The meeting decided that the name of the common candidate would be announced in the next two days after consultations with the parliamentary parties and provincial leaders of the respective groups.
The development comes as the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly prepares for the bypoll to fill the vacant general seat in the upper house of Parliament.
