PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday withdrew its candidate in favour of Jamiat Ulema-iIslam-Fazl (JUI-F) for a seat reserved for non-Muslims, paving the way for JUI-F to become the largest opposition party in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly with 18 lawmakers.

As a result, JUI-F`s candidate Gorpal Singh will now be notified as MPA-elect on the said seat by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) candidate ShahidaWaheed was declared the winner through a draw against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P) candidate for a seat reserved for women. She will also be notified by the ECP as MPAelect.

Both developments took place at the office of Provincial Election Commissioner (PEC) Saeed Gul in Peshawar on Thursday, where senior party leaders were present.

PML-N provincial president Amir Muqam and JUI-F`s Maulana Attaur Rehman attended the event along with their respective candidates, Gorsaran Lal and Gorpal Singh. The PML-N delegation formally withdrew its candidate insupport of JUI-F`s nominee.

Similarly, delegations of ANP, led by MPA Nisar Baz and candidate Shahida Waheed, and PTI-P, led by MPA Arbab Waseem and candidate Somi, were also present for the draw. Following the draw, ECP officials declared Ms Waheed the winner.

Both PML-N and JUI-F were allotted one seat each, reserved for non-Muslims, on the basis of the seven general seats won by each of them. The ECP had decided to allot the remaining seat through a draw.

Similarly, both ANP and PTI-P were awarded one seat each reserved for women and the remaining seat had to be allotted through a draw between candidates of these parties.

Following the notifications, JUI-F and PML-N will each hold nine of the total26 reserved seatsfor women in the KP Assembly. PPP holds five, while ANP and PTI-P will now hold two and one, respectively.

For the four seatsreserved for non-Muslims, JUI-F will hold two, while PML-N and PPP will have one each.

The opposition now holds a total of 52 lawmakers in the KP Assembly, including 18 MPAs of JUI-F, 17 of PML-N, 10 of PPP, four of ANP, and three of PTI-P.

Presently, Dr Ibadullah of PML-N is the leader of the opposition in the KP Assembly. PTI-backed lawmakers maintain their tally of 92 members.