The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday announced its candidates for national assembly from across the country for the February 8 general elections, apparently ruling out any seat adjustment plan, a private TV channel reported on Friday.
According to the list issued on X (formerly Twitter), the PTI announced candidates on 233 National Assembly constituencies out of 266 general seats.
The National Assembly has a total of 266 general seats, 10 reserved seats for non-Muslims and 60 reserved seats for women. This makes the total number 336, as per the new delimitation list.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan is set to contest from NA-10, Buner, while Sher Afzal Marwat has been nominated for NA-41 Lakki Marwat and Ayaz Amir secured a ticket for NA-58 Chakwal.
Murad Saeed will be contesting on NA-4 (Swat), while Omar Ayub Khan will contest for NA-18 (Haripur).
Meanwhile, Asad Qaiser – former national assembly speaker – is the candidate for NA-19 (Swabi), Ali Muhammad Khan for NA-23 (Mardan-III), Shahryar Afridi for NA-35 (Kohat) and Ali Amin Gandapur for NA-44 (DI Khan-I).
The other PTI candidates for the National Assembly seats included Shohib Shaheen from NA-47 (Islamabad-II), Raja Basharat from NA-55 (Rawalpindi-IV), Shahryar Riaz from NA-56 (Rawalpindi-V) – the constituency of Sheikh Rashid, Seemabia Tahir from NA-57 (Rawalpindi-VI) and Ayaz Amir from NA-58 (Chakwal).
The PTI has decided to back Shahryar Riaz against veteran politician Sheikh Rasheed. The former interior minister’s nephew, Sheikh Rasheed Shafiq, did not receive a PTI ticket.
In Lahore, PTI unveiled its contenders, with Aaliyah Hamza, Wasim Qadir, Latif Khosa, and Afzal Azim securing tickets across various constituencies.
While Karamat Khokhar and Zaheer Abbas received endorsements in NA-126 and NA-127 respectively, NA-129 saw Mian Azhar emerge as the party’s candidate.
Senior party leader Yasmin Rashid’s ticket for NA-130 was also confirmed, solidifying her place in the upcoming electoral battle.
However, several constituencies, including NA-132 in Kasur – from where PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif will contest election, are pending nominations.
Similar uncertainty swirls around four Lahore constituencies – NA-117, NA-119, NA-120, and NA-125 – where PTI is yet to announce its candidates. Decisions for NA-74 Sialkot, NA-82 Sargodha, and NA-94 also hang in the balance.
