PESHAWAR - Out of 14 candidates for provincial assembly seats from Peshawar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will try eight new candidates including two former PML-N leaders Arbab Waseem and Nasir Musazai who have recently joined the party.

The new candidates who were awarded ticket include Arbab Waseem from PK-67, Taimoor Saleem Khan Jaghra PK-73, Pir Fida Mohammad PK-74, Malik Wajidullah Khan PK-75, Asif Khan PK-76, Kamran Khan Bangash PK-77, Muhammad Irfan PK-78 and Nasir Musazai PK-79. Musazai tried his luck several times in NA-04 but repeatedly failed to secure a seat. He decided to change the party and joined PTI to secure a provincial assembly seat.

Before joining PTI, Musazai was all set to join Awami National Party (ANP). However, he refused at the eleventh hour despite the fact that a joining ceremony had been organised and ANP leadership was on its way towards Musazai’s residence.

Despite launching several gas and electricity supply schemes in the area, he failed to secure a seat on PML-N ticket and decided to change his party.

Those MPAs who were elected previously in the 2013 general elections on PTI ticket include Ziaullah Afridi in PK-01, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai PK-02, Javed Naseem PK-03, Arif Yousaf PK-04, Yaseen Khalil PK-05, Fazl Ilahi PK-06, Mahmood Jan PK-07, Arbab Jhandad Khan PK-09, Shah Farman PK-10 and Muhammad Ashtiaq in PK-11. 

Out of them, Afridi, Yousaf, Khalil and Naseem were ousted from the party due to Senate election voting and corruption allegations while former MPA Yousafzai was advised to contest from his home constituency in district Shangla, who accepted the party decision.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has vowed to reconsider the names of ideological candidates and in this connection he will himself scrutinise the list of candidates.