LAHORE: To go in the election campaign before other parties, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has confirmed party ticket to Imran Khan and other candidates for national assembly seats from Lahore, during its parliamentary board meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday.
The party has also unveiled its final lists of reserved seats for women and minorities on Tuesday. Despite tall claims to change the traditional politics in the country, the PTI has nominated ‘Begumat’ for the reserved seats for women against the genuine female workers of the party who have worked hard for the party since its inception.PTI sources told Media that the parliamentary board of the PTI, authorised to decide the party tickets, has decided in its meeting that the party chairman Imran Khan will contest upcoming general elections from NA-122 Lahore constituency.
Imran Khan has contested from the same constituency in the past obtaining around 10,000 votes but was defeated.Former governor Punajb Mian Azhar’s son Hamad Azhar has been finalised for contesting from NA-121 and a prominent doctor in the city, Dr Yasmin Rashid who has also served the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) as chairperson will contest on NA-120 against Mian Nawaz Sharif, head of the PML-N and a proposed candidate from the said constituency.
Mian Hamid Miraj, son of Mian Miraj alias Maja Sikh (late), has been fielded by the PTI from his native constituency NA-123 where he is well connected. Makhdoom Javed Hashmi would contest from Lahore NA-126.From NA-118, Hamid Zaman and from NA-119, Ahmad Madni have been nominated for the party tickets. Karamat Khokhar, uncle of Zaheer Abbas Khokhar (a diehard worker of the party) will contest from his native constituency NA-128 while Aleem Khan will contest from NA-127.
According to PTI sources, the party has submitted a final list for the reserved seats for women for National Assembly in which 39 women are included. The sources informed that the party board has changed the final list twice before submitting it to the election commission last Sunday. Some veteran female workers have been replaced by ‘Begumat’.The women who have been included in the priority list for reserved seats for women for National Assembly are Dr Shireen Mazari, Munaza Hassan, Ayla Malik, Fauzia Kasuri, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Syeda Saloni Bukhari, Shamsa Ali, Andaleeb Abbas, Maimoona Hashmi, Sadiqa Sahibdad, Hina Manzoor, Shahida Malka, Rukhsana Bhatti, Dr Seemi Bukhari, Shaheena Asad, Rifat Kahloon, Neelam Shah, Dr Nausheen Meraj, Samina Raza Malaika, Onaza Butt, Abida Raja, Seemi Ezdi, Nasreen Tariq, Sobia Kamal Khan, Maha Raja Tarin, Nasim Majid, Syeda Farah Azmi, Ayesha Khanam, Dr Rubbina, Sadia Saif, Rashida Zaheer, Kanwal Shahzeb, Humaira Khan, Dr Misbah, Neelum Ashraf, Ayesha Khalid, Dr Zarka Suherwardi, Zartag Gul Akhwand and Tashfeen Safdar.
Around 64 women candidates for reserved seats for Punjab Assembly are nominated in the priority list including Saadia Sohail, Nausheen Hamid, Raheela Mehdi, Nabela Haqqani, Naheed Naeem, Naseem Majid, Sabia Shaheen, Fareeha Aftab, Hina Kashif, Mahpara Ahsan, Ayesha Chaudry, Abida Raja, Shavana Bashir, Saadia Saif, Arsala Farukh, Hifza Akhter Bajwa, Asma Khalid, Lubna Ehtesham, Shehla Ahsan, Naseem Zehra, Neelum Ashraf, Talat Naqvi, Samina Khan, Ruksana Naveed, Aalya Hamza, Sehrish Fatima, Fakha Agha, Asma Islam, Fatima Usman, Shaheen Reza, Saria Kanwal, Makyam Ijaz, Sarwat Robina, Iram Kayani, Zehrish Fatima, Aneela Baig, Wajeeha Akram, Bushra Sikander Bhatti, Ummul Banin, Zartaj Akhwand Gul, Ayesha Khalid, Rizwana Iqtadar, Farha Azmi, Farzana Bhatti, Nighat Sultana, Sarwat Robina, Iffat Bokhari, Shaheen Reza, Zainab Lodhi, Shabnam Jehangir, Labeeba Iffat Qazi, Asiya Kamil, Nadra Aamir, Sara Naseem, Farhat Farooq, AK Zerqa, Nussarat Jabeen, Warda Talat, Maleeha Hussain, Rabia Chaudry, Neelum Raheed, Taheera Jabeen, Sarwat Robina and Shehla Ahsan.
The PTI sources said that names of some political workers of the party like Lubna Malik, Seema Anwar, Zainab Rizwan, Farida Kamran, Dr Ansa, Asifa Naeem, Benish Nauman, Uzma Khan, Musarat Jabeen and Nighat Mehmood who worked hard to make popular the party among masses were included in the initial list of the reserved seats but replaced with Memoona Hashmi, the daughter of Javed Hashmi, Kalsoom Usman, daughter of Mehmood ur Rasheed, former parliamentarian Shahina Asad, Farukh Javed Moon and Sarah Naseem who was defeated in recent intra-party elections at UC level. Sources said the affected women have lodged their protest and urged party chairman to reconsider them.Party sources informed that the board meeting for confirming the candidates from Lahore for the national assembly was continuing till the filing of this report. – DailyTimes
