LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has announced the list of itscandidates for national and provincial assembly seats in north-centralregion of Punjab.

Notable among the party’s contestants are former prime minister Raja PervezAshraf (from NA-58 Gujar Khan-Rawalpindi); former federal ministers QamarZaman Kaira (NA-70 Gujrat); and Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat (NA-114 Jhang).Other prominent candidates of the party that has failed to make a mark onPunjab’s electoral map in 2013 are Mohammad Afzal Khokhar (NA-52Islamabad); and Fakhar Umar Laleka (NA-86 Mandi Bahauddin).

PPP Punjab division president Rai Shahjahan Bhatti will contest from NA-118and Ghulam Fareed Kathia from NA-148.

On the remaining two Islamabad seats, PPP has fielded Sibtul Hassan Bukhari(NA-53) and Raja Imran Ashraf (NA-54).

In Attock, PPP candidates are Sardar Zulfiqar Hayat (NA-55), and SardarSaleem Haider (NA-56).

In Rawalpindi, Kamran Azlam Chaudhry (NA-59); Mukhtar Abbas (NA-60); HajiGulzar Awan (NA-61); and Sumera Gull (NA-62). In Chakwal, Jabbar AhmadChilla (NA-64); and Malik Hashim Khan Awan (NA-65). Tasneem Nasir Gujjar isthe PPP candidate on NA-66 Jhelum-I; and Commander (retd) Fayyaz Ashraf onNA-67 Jhelum-II.

There are four PPP candidates in Gujrat. Azhar Iqbal in NA-68; Wazir UnNisa in NA-69; Qamar Zaman Kaira in NA-70; and Chaudhry Ehsaan in NA-71.

In Sialkot, Malik Tahir Iftikhar in NA-72; Zafar Mehmood Malik in NA-73;Nargis Faiz Malik in NA-74; Zaheer ul Hassan Rizvi in NA-75; and YasirMushtaq Bajwa in NA-76.

In Narowal, Muhammad Nawaz is the candidate in NA-77.

The party has five candidates in Gujranwala. Ejaz Ahmad Cheema; Rao IkramAli Khan; Muhammad Anas Amjad; Muhammad Ishaq; and Zulfiqar Ali.

Asif Bashir Bhagat and Fakhar Umer Hayat Lalika are the party candidates inMandi Bahauddin. Brigadier (retd) Izhar ul Hassan, Muhammad Aslam Madiana,Tasneem Ahmad Qureshi, and Tariq Mehmood Gujjar are PPP candidates inSargodha. Agha Naseem Abbas and Safdar Ali are in Khushab; Muhammad KhalidKhan and Muhammad Khalid Awan in Mianwali; Makhdoom Syed Asad Hayat andInayat Ali Shah in Chiniot; Tariq Bajwa, Rai Muhammad Shah Jahan Khar,Shahdat Khan Baloch, Rana Farooq Saeed Khan, Saeed Iqbal, Malik SardarMuhammad, Malik Asghar Ali Qaiser, and Haji Muhammad Afzal in Faisalabad;Haji Muhammad Ishaq in Toba Tek Singh; Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat inJhang; Rai Shah Jahan Ahmad Bhatti in Jhang; Muhammad Javed Bhatti inSheikhupura; Captain (retd) Rai Ghullam Mujtaba Kharal; Nawab Tariq; andShahzad Naul in Okara; Mian Shoket Ali Bajwa in Pakpattan; and Mehar GhulamFarid Khatia and Ali Javaid in Sahiwal.

In Lahore, PPP has fielded candidates on 44 seats of national andprovincial assemblies.

No names have yet been announced for NA-123 and PP-145, 154,162, 163,164,165, 166, and 169.

Samina Khalid Ghurki will face PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif and AsimBhatti PTI chiarman Imran Khan. PPP Lahore president Azizur Rehman Channwill contest on a provincial assembly seat.

PPP sources told Daily Times that the list was finalised by the partychairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in consultation of PPP co-chairman Asif AliZardari and other senior party leaders from Punjab.

According to the list, PPP has fielded Ch Zaheer in NA-124 against PML-N’sHamza Shahbaz and PTI’s Nauman Qaisar; Hafiz Zubair Kardar in NA-125against PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Dr Yasmin Rashid of PTI; AurangzebBarki in NA-126 against PTI’s Mian Hamad Azhar and Mehar Ishtiaq Ahmad ofNawaz League; Adnan Gorsi in NA-127 against PTI’s Jamsheed Iqbal Cheema andPML-N’s Pervaiz Malik; Syed Zaffar Ali Shah in NA-128 against PML-N’sSheikh Rohail Asghar and PTI’s Ejaz Dayal; Iftikhar Shahid in NA-129against PML-N’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and PTI’s Abdul Aleem Khan; Adeel GhulamMohauddin in NA-130 against PTI’s Shafqat Mehmood and PML-N’s Khawaja AhmadHasan, Asim Mehmood Bhatti in NA-131 against PTI’s Imran Khan and PMLN’sKhawaja Saad Rafique, Samana Khalid Ghurki in NA-132 against PML-Npresident Shahbaz Sharif and PTI’s Mansha Sindhu; Chaudhry Aslam Gill inNA-133 against PML-N’s Waheed Alam Khan, PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry andindependent Zaeem Qadri; Suhail Awan in NA-134 against PTI’s Zaheer AbbasKhokhar and Rana Mubashar Iqbal of PML-N; Amjad Ali Jutt in NA-135 againstPML-N’s Saiful Malook and PTI’s Karamat Ali Khokhar, and Rana Jamil Ahmadin NA-136 against PMLN’s Afzal Khokhar and PTI’s Malik Asad Khokhar.

On the provincial seats, PPP has announced: Mehmood Qureshi for PP-144,Shahbaz Bhatti for PP-146, Malik Asghar Ali PP-147, Mirza Idress forPP-148, Haji Nadir Khan for PP-149, Mansha Prince for PP-150, Akram DogarPP-151, Asif Nagra PP-152, Zahid Zulfiqar for PP-153, Asrarul Haq Butt(younger brother of murdered Babar Butt of Lakhodar) for PP-155, HajiAzizur Rehman Chan for PP-156, Raja Shabbir for PP-157, Arif Zaffar forPP-158, Mian Aslam PP-159, Shakeel Pasha PP-160, Ch Atif Rafique PP-162,Aslam Garra PP-167, Sheikh Maqbool PP-168, Asif Bhutti PP-170, Faiza MalikPP-161, Rubina Sohail PP-173, Munawar Dogar for PP-171 and Akhter Sial forPP-172.