Daily Times

The Election 2024 campaign on Sunday reached its peak in Kohat district, where a tough electoral battle is expected among Pakistan Muslim League (N) former senator Abbas Afridi and ex-MNA Sharyar Afridi, backed by Pakistan Tahrik e Insaf and Saifullah Bangash of JUIF on February 8.

Besides addressing corner meetings and public rallies, the political stalwarts approached large tribes, including Bangash, Afridi, Aurkzai, and others, to get their support for the 2024 election.

Shahryar Afridi had won the 2013 and 2018 elections from NA 35 Kohat after securing 68,129 votes and 82,248 votes, respectively, while JUIF Gohar Bangash stood runner-up with 32,041 and 47,412 votes, respectively.

Political observers said that Seth Saifullah Khan Bangash, who was defeated in the previous elections by a narrow margin, could surprise many on election day.

Saifullah may have gained an advantage after his party fielded strong candidates in the three provincial assembly constituencies, which were part of the National Assembly constituency, and these candidates were also campaigning for Saifullah.

PTI district president Aftab Iqbal will face three-time election winner and independent candidate Amjad Afridi on PK-91. He remained part of the Awami National Party and the PTI and later joined the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Amjad Afridi is considered an influential candidate in the constituency as he and his brother, PML-N’s Abbas Afridi, carried out massive development work in Kohat that may benefit them on D-Day.

JUI-F candidate Mohammad Shoaib of Darra Adamkhel, which is now part of KP-90, also has large voter support, especially from religious people, and approached large tributes to get support ahead of the polling day.

PTI has fielded Daud Afridi in PK 91 Kohat, who will face party dissident and former MPA Imtiaz Qureshi, who is contesting the election independently.

Iqbal Fana, who won the 2008 election as a nominee of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, can also surprise his rivals on polling day.

He recently quit the Jamaat-i-Islami after a long affiliation to join the JUI-F after being approached by supporters, which can surprise many.

Former minister Ziaullah Bangash, who joined the PTI-Parliamentarians, has jumped into the electoral arena of KP-92, where he was being challenged by the PTI’s Shafi Jan, whose father laid the party’s foundation in Kohat in 1996.

Johar Saifullah Khan Bangash of the JUI-F and Dr. Zulfiqar of the PPP, who have sizable support in the “Mini Larkana” of the Bangash belt on the Hangu Road, are also in the field and will give tough time to political rivals.

Ikhlaq Ahmed, a voter for NA 35 Kohat, said that poor drinking water and sanitation, besides unemployment, were major problems, and any candidate with a solid program for its resolution would get an edge over others on February 8. He said inadequate healthcare and education facilities, in addition to unemployment, also needed to be addressed by the candidates.

Ikhlaq said that the youth of Kohat faced difficulties after visiting abroad for employment due to a lack of technical skills and demanded the construction of a vocational education training institute in all tehsils of Kohat.

The voters also demanded linking Kohat via the Khushal Garh Bridge with the CPEC route, besides promoting industrialization for the employment generation of youth.