Here is everything you need to know about PFF Provincial Elections

Political manipulation at the highest level may play a huge role on the eventual outcome of the provincial elections of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) which are set to be conducted on Thursday and Friday.

Four provinces, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan, are set to take part in the elections in the coming two days to elect their respective office-bearers for the next four-year tenure.

Having passed through critical situation during the last nine years, this is an opportune time for the football stakeholders to settle the things without any interruption and resolve the long-standing dispute which rocked football in Pakistan.

The voters from four provinces have started arriving in Lahore to participate in the election process which will be held on September 19 and 20.

The elections of Islamabad, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and AJK will be held on Thursday (tomorrow) while Punjab, Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan will go to polls on Friday.

This is the first time that the provincial level elections are being conducted at the same center. Four-member FIFA-appointed Normalisation Committee will act as an electoral committee along with the provincial election commissioners to dispose off the process which is direly needed to pave way for the PFF elections, which according to the PFF Constitution could be held inside 60 days after elections at the provincial level are conducted.

Barring Gilgit Baltistan, where Ahmed Iqbal of Diamer is the sole candidate for the presidential slot, a tough contest is expected in the rest of the units. However, after through research, Nukta has learnt that political maneuvering has been done in almost all the provinces with top political parties playing a massive role in the elections.

Pakistan Peoples Party leads the race as it is highly expected that in at least three provinces its long-standing affiliated candidates will be able to manage wins.

Punjab

As many as six candidates are set to contest for the Punjab Football Association (PFA) presidency.

A tough contest is expected to be seen between PML (N) MPA Naveed Aslam Khan Lodhi, who is the nephew and son-in-law of former PFF secretary and politician Arshad Khan Lodhi, and former PFA president Rana Ashraf whose life ban had been lifted by NC last week.

The other PFA presidency aspirants are Awais Ashraf (Bahawalnagar), Faisal Ameer (Kasur), Abdul Jabbar (Khanewal) and Mehmood Khalid (Nankana Sahib).

Sindh

Former Sindh Football Association (SFA) Secretary General Azam Khan, Tahir Hussain (Malir), Mohammad Anwar (Sanghar) and Abdul Latif (Tando Allah Yar) are the candidates for the presidency.

Azam a few days ago also joined PPP in a bid to get its back-up. But Anwar, who is backed by the recently banned strong football figure from District South Nasir Karim, has emerged as a strong candidate as per new development. Nasir Karim is also from PPP and according to sources PPP has done major work for the success of its candidate Anwar.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

As many as five candidates will run for the presidential seat of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Football Association. The real battle will be between former KP health minister and former PFF vice-president Syed Zahir Shah and Col Nouman (Malakand) who has the support former international footballer Shahid Shinwari and a couple of others with political affiliation.

Zahir belongs to PPP and also has been its provincial president in the past. Sources told Nukta that PPP co-chairman and President Asif Ali Zardari had promised Zahir during a meeting that he would support him in becoming the next PFF chief if he drops out of the race for the KP Governorship. And Zahir accepted his offer, an insider said. Victory in the provincial election is direly needed for Zahir who has been working as KP FA chief for the last few decades.

Kaleemullah (Lower Dir), Hussain Ahmed (Lower Chitral) and Sikandar Shah Gohar (Charsadda) are the others who are set to contest for the KP FA presidency.

Both Zahir and Nouman had been banned recently for life by the PFF disciplinary committee but their ban was lifted the other day and they were allowed to file their nomination papers.

Balochistan and AJK

Abdur Rauf Natozai from Chagi, a former president of Balochistan Football Association (BFA), Jamil Ahmad Sarparah (Mastung), Dr Mohammad Ali (Chaman) and Sajjad Saeed (Kalat) are set to contest for the BFA’s presidential slot.

The real battle is between Natozai and Jamil Ahmed, the brother of Haji Khalil, who had been beaten by Natozai in the 2015 BFA elections.

Jamil Ahmed has the back-up of Raisani family who belongs to PPP.

Zahooraz Akram (Poonch), Abdul Waseem (Mirpur) and Mohammad Imtiaz Mirza (Kotli) are set to contest for the AJK FA presidency.