Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government and opposition parties have reached an understanding to celebrate unanswered elections from the Senate, the sources confirmed on Friday.
According to the agreement, six PTI candidates and five of the opposition are elected without opposition. The opposition leader in the KP Assembly, Dr. Ibadullah, confirmed the development.
The opposition nominees include Talha Mehmood, Attaul Haq, Rubina Khalid, Dilawar Khan and Niaz Ahmad. PTI candidates to be elected without opposition include Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Afridi, Noor-Ul-Haq Qadri, Azam Swati and Rubina Naz.
After the final round of night negotiations in the provincial capital, Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur registered a video message confirming the consensus in the presence of opposition leaders.
The main minister also contacted PTI’s unhappy members in an attempt to address their concerns and ensure a broader consensus.
The meeting was attended by Talha Mehmood, Ataul Haq Darwesh, MPA Sajadullah and Dr. Ibadullah of the Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N), among other opposition figures.
Meanwhile, the opposition has resolved its internal divisions, and the PML-N retired its nominee in favor of the Jui-F candidate for the minority seat.
In a related development, CM Gandapur signed a summary to convene a session of the Provincial Assembly on July 20 and sent it to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
During the session, the newly elected members are expected to be reserved for women and minorities to take an oath, according to the sources.
PTI’s internal divisions persist
The ruling party has decided to establish a three members committee to administer dissent within its ranks.
Separately, PTI members, including Irfan Salem, Khurram Zeeshan and Ayesha Bano, who have denied the Senate tickets, have chosen not to withdraw their candidates, as revealed during a meeting of the candidates who cover the party.
The trio met with the secretary general of PTI Salman Akram Raja and expressed frustration for the nomination process.
Raja will meet CM Gandapur later today, accompanied by harmed leaders, to present their objections, the sources added.
Meanwhile, tensions within the party are still resolved, since the provincial leadership of PTI has issued a new priority list of Senate candidates.
The revised list omits the names of Mirza Afridi and Rubina Naz, despite the previous indications of their selection.
The updated board now includes Murad Saeed, Irfan Salem, Faisal Javed, Khurram Zeeshan, Azhar Mashwani, Noor-Ul-Haq Qadri and Azam Swati. According to the sources, the list has been formally sent to the president of PTI by the provincial general of the party.
