ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has reportedly withdrawn its candidatein favour of a slain political rival’s wife, who is running for aprovincial seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital after his assassination ina suicide attack last week.
The party has yet to make an official announcement.
Haroon Bilour’s wife announcedlink>lastThursday contesting the forthcoming election from PK-78 Peshawar, the sameconstituency her husband had also been contesting the polls from. Haroonwas among 20 other martyrs after a suicide bomber detonated himself at acorner meeting of Awami National Party (ANP) in Peshawar late Tuesday. Twoof 65 injured of the attack succumbed to their wounds earlier today, takingthe death toll to 22.
The following day, the Imran Khan’s party suspended its election campaignfor a day to mourn Bilour’s martyrdom.
“We are suspending our election activities in KP where party flag will flyat half-mast to mourn the martyrdom of Haroon Bilour and ANP workers,” PTIspokesman Fawad Chauhdry said on Wednesday.
Calling the suicide blast as barbaric and condemnable act, he said the PTIwill share grief of the Bilour family.
Haroon was son of Bashir Ahmed Bilour, a senior ANP figure who, himself,was martyred in a suicide blast back in 2012.
“Our morale is high,” said Haroon’s son, Danial Bilour, while confirmingthat his mother would be contesting the election from his father’sconstituency PK-78 Peshawar.
Haroon Bilour’s wife is the daughter of former minister of Sindh IrfanullahMarwat, and granddaughter of former President of Pakistan, late GhulamIshaq Khan.
Pakistan is set to hold general elections in July 25.