Senator Khanzada accuses ANP of ‘ditching’ PPP in KP LB polls

MARDAN: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) provincial President Senator Khanzada Khan on Sunday accused the Awami National Party (ANP) of cheating his party in the recently held local government elections.
“The ANP was our close ally, but it cheated us in the local government elections. The PPP was made to suffer despite our tripartite alliance for contesting the polls. This created problems for us in majority of the districts, particularly in Mardan,” he said while talking to The News.
The PPP leader said massive rigging was carried out in the local government elections. “The district returning officer (DRO) of Mardan wrote to the provincial government that the elections were rigged,” he maintained.
Senator Khanzada Khan asked why the PTI-led provincial government wasn’t holding re-polling in Mardan in light of the DRO’s report. He said the PPP was in the favour of re-polling in the whole province. He added that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was also ready for re-polling, but it was the ANP that wasn’t sincere and didn’t want re-election.
Khanzada Khan reminded that the previous PPP government and President Asif Ali Zardari as a result of his reconciliation policy gave identity to the Pakhtuns by renaming the erstwhile North-West Frontier Province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and giving provincial autonomy to the smaller provinces through the 18th Amendment.
He argued that some political parties misconstrued the recent statement of PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and gave it a different meaning. He added that the PPP honoured the military and had fully back the action against the militants in North Waziristan and other areas.
The PPP provincial head said the apex committees were formed to coordinate activities against militancy, but in Sindh its mandate was being extended to tackle corruption. He accused the federal government of failing to implement the National Action Plan. He also blamed it for the electricity blackouts and the inflation and demanded measures to give relief to the people. He added that the PTI-led provincial government had also failed to deliver on its promises.