PESHAWAR: There is all set to hold the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) election for 2024-26. Polling will be held today (Wednesday) from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM in the premises of the Chamber House.
A neck-to-neck contest is expected between three groups: Businessman Forum (former senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour), Sarhad Business Alliance (Haji Ghulam Ali Group) and Pakistan Business Community (Sharafat Ali Mubarak Group).
A total of 46 candidates are vying for 10 corporate and 10 associate group seats. Later, electoral college will elect two women members of the executive committee on served seats while an executive member from BF Group on Bannu Town Association has already been elected unopposed.
The total corporate voters are 500 while the number of associate voters is 3,000, who will elect members of the executive members for the next two years.
The Directorate General of Trade Organisation (DGTO) has appointed an observer for the holding of the transparent and smooth conduct of the election.
The candidates of the BF on 10 executive committee seats for Corporate Group include Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, Fazal Muqeem, Hassan Zahideen, Adnan Nasir, Abbas Fuad Bilal Azeem, Junaid Altaf, Sabir Ahmad Bangash, Sajjad Zaheer, Ashfaq Ahmad and Aftab Iqbal.
These candidates will face Dr Yousaf Sarwar, Abidullah Khan Yousafzai, Atif Shehzad, Imtiaz Ahmad, Engineer Manzoor-ul-Haq, Abdul Hameed Gurwara, Deen Akbar, Dr Mohibullah Afridi, Malik Mohsin Sajjad and Mohammad Luqman Shah of the Sarhad Business Alliance.
On the executive committee seats of the Associate Group, the ruling group has fielded Abdul Jalil Jan, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Nadeem Rauf, Shams-ur-Rehman, Saddam Hussain, Shehryar Khan, Sultan Muhammad, Gul Zaman Khan, Naeem-ur-Rehman and Saifullah.
The candidates of SBA on Associate Group included Ghulam Bilal Javed, Shehzad Rauf, Mohammad Ikram Mohmand, Ikramullah Khan, Mohammad Shahrukh Khan, Sher Zaman, Ashiq Muhammad, Arshad Mahmood, Riaz Hussain and Bakht Mir Jan Durrani respectively.
Earlier, an election commission was formed for the election and its members include Malik Niaz Ahmad, Zarak Khan and Abdul Hakeem Shinwari.
On Tuesday, the leaders of all three groups held separate meetings to set strategy for tomorrow’s (Wednesday) election.
An important huddle of the Businessman Forum was held in the Chamber House wherein leaders review the preparations for the election.
Similarly, the leaders of SBA including Haji Ghulam Ali, Syed Zahir Shah and Pakistan Business Community leader Sharafat Ali Mubarak visited the Chamber House and witnessed the arrangements for the election.
The contest this time has evoked interest after the launching of a new alliance of the business community under the banner of Sarhad Business Alliance. This alliance is headed by Ghulam Ali and Syed Zahir Ali Shah, former a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl leader and the latter belonging to the Pakistan People’s Party. Ghulam Ali has already served as KP governor while Syed Zahir Ali Shah was a provincial minister in the past.
This new alliance is challenging the Businessman Forum which is headed by Awami National Party leader Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, the younger brother of elderly politician Ghulam Ahmad Bilour. The Businessman Forum chief has remained a member of the Senate for multiple times.
Meanwhile, the SCCI administration made all arrangements to conduct smooth, transparent and fair elections.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024