The 'Watan Dost' Group, backed by Awami National Party (ANP), has emerged as the largest group in the local bodies elections, securing 28 seats of nazims in 92 union councils of the City District Peshawar, followed by Al-Khidmat Group of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Awam Dost Group of PPP-Parliamentarian with 25 and 21 seats, respectively.
The interesting and new development of Thursday's polls was the making of inroads by ANP in the city areas, formerly known as the stronghold of PPP-Parliamentarian. The Watan Dost Group has won the urban union councils of Karimpura and Ander Shehr. The ANP supported candidates Abdul Wahid Qadri and Suhail Akhtar won from Karimpura while Mohammad Ali Safi, a former activist of PML (N) clinched the nazim's seat of Ander Shehr.
The Muttahida Group of MMA won 7 seats, Taraqi Pasand Group of PPP-Sherpao 3, PML (N) backed Watan Nawaz 2, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf 1 while five panels of Independent Group have also been elected.
The results of the elections have been a surprise for the people as in most of its former strongholds the PPP has lost to either Watan Dost or Al-Khidmat group in the City. However, it has retained some seats in urban union councils like Lahori Gate, Gangj Jehangirpura, Gulbahar and Sikandar Town.
Some former nazims or naib nazims, like Mohammad Iqbal Mehdi, Mohammad Saeed Butt, Syed Anwar-ul-Hassan and Mohammad Iqbal failed to retain their seats.
Prominent among those who were re-elected were Mohammad Tariq, Arbab Mohammad Tariq, Niaz Mohammad Mohmand, Umar Khan Mohmand, Noor Rehman Mohmand, and Dost Mohammad.
The five panels of independents elected included Kifayatullah & Shahnawaz from UC Hassan Garhi, Haroon Ayub from UC Kakhshal, Irfanullah Shah from Faqirabad, Ghulam Rasool from Union Council Paoka, Asif Khan Baghi from Nauthia Qadeem, Mahmood Khan (Kafoor Dehri), Ghazanfar Ali from Badhbair Maryamzai, and Iqbal Gulbaila.