25 running for 12 Senate seats from KP

PESHAWAR: In the upcoming battle for 12 Senate seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a total of 25 candidates have been left in the electoral fray after the withdrawal of nomination papers by 16 others.

According to the final list of candidates issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after the withdrawal of nomination papers on Thursday, a total of 11 candidates are in the running for seven general seats, five each for two seats each for technocrats and women, and four for a single minority seat.

Among those, who withdrew nominations, were 10 from the ruling PTI, two from the opposition PPP, one from the opposition PML-N, two from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and one independent. Five PTI candidates, including federal information minister Syed Shibli Faraz, Faisal Saleem Rehman, Mohsin Aziz, Zeeshan Khanzada and Liaqat Khan Tarakai, are contesting for general seats from the province. Besides, Maulana Attaur Rehman and Tariq Khattak of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Hidayatullah Khan of the Awami National Party, former federal minister Abbas Afridi of the PML-N, Attaur Rehman of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Taj Mohammad Afridi of the BAP are also running for general seats from the province. The PTI will support BAP's Taj Mohammad Afridi for general seat in exchange for his party's support for its candidates on technocrat and women seats.

On technocrat seat, Dost Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Humayun Khan Mohmand of the PTI, Farhatullah Babar of the PPP, Mohammad Iqbal Khalil of the JI and Dr Shaukat Jamal Amirzada of the ANP are contesting for two technocrat seats from the province.