The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has officially revealed its candidate roster for the national and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies’ seats from Peshawar for the general elections scheduled on February 8. The party has selected Shandana Gulzar to contest from the NA-30 constituency. Sajid Nawaz, Arbab Amir, Arbab Sher Ali, and Asif Khan are also set to represent the PTI in various Peshawar constituencies. However, the party has decided against issuing a ticket to Sher Afzal Marwat for the Peshawar region.
This decision follows a statement made on December 27, 2023, by PTI leader Taimur Khan Jhagra from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who expressed reservations about Marwat contesting polls from Peshawar after he submitted his nomination papers for the NA-32 constituency. Jhagra suggested that a local Peshawar leader would be a more suitable candidate. In response, Marwat indicated that he was initially reluctant to contest but was directed by the PTI founder to run for elections in Peshawar.
PTI’s Electoral Symbol Restored by Peshawar High Court
In another significant development, the PTI candidates will head into the February 8 polls with their iconic electoral symbol ‘bat’. This follows a ruling on January 10 by the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which restored the symbol to the party.
The court’s decision came after hearing PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) previous verdict, which had declared the party’s intra-party election null and void and revoked their ‘bat’ symbol. The PHC found the ECP’s decision to be ‘incorrect’ and ordered the electoral body to reissue the symbol to PTI, underscoring that “PTI is a political party entitled to an election symbol.
