PESHAWAR/Islamabad: Asfandyar Wali Khan and Senator Aimal Wali Khan were elected as Rahbar-e-Tehreek and president, respectively, of the Awami National Party (ANP) after the intra-party elections here on Sunday.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, chairman of the Election Commission, presided over the Central Executive Committee meeting which was attended by the ANP senior leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and others.
Like the office-bearers of ANP for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, the central office-bearers of the party were elected unopposed as well during the day-long meeting.
ANP’s senior leader Ameer Haider Hoti proposed the name of Aimal Wali Khan for the slot of the president of the party, which was endorsed unanimously.
Asfandyar Wali Khan who had almost announced retirement from active politics due to his illness was named Rahbar-e-Tehreek of the party.
Senator Daud Khan was elected as senior vice-president while Dr Mohammad Salim Khan from Swat was elected as general secretary of the Pakhtun nationalist party.
The other office-bearers of the party included Jawad Khattak as vice-president (VP) and Iffat Kulsoom for women from Islamabad; Pervez Khan, former MNA as vice-president for KP and Dr Noor Jehan vice-president of women from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Faridullah Dumarh, VP and Salma Kakar as VP for women, Balochistan; Syed Attaullah Shah and Qudsiya Shaheen Advocate as VP for women from the Punjab province; Anwar Zeb Khan as VP and Shazia Razaq Marwat as VP for women from Sindh province; Mohammad Nadim Qureishi VP and Abida Khan VP for Saraiki unit.
Similarly, Sardar Hussain Babak was made secretary for the party for foreign affairs, Senator Hidayatullah Khan as secretary for finance, Dr Khadim Hussain secretary for culture and Ihsanullah as the central spokesperson or information secretary of the party.
The ANP central executive council members also elected Malik Faqir Ali as central Salaar of the party, Khushdil Khan as central secretary for human rights, Maulana Khan Zeb as secretary for Ulema and Mashaikh, Dr Waqar Ahmad as secretary for the teachers wing, Sangeen Khan Advocate for lawyers affairs, Engineer Zarid Ali Khan for engineers, Dr Shaukat Jamal Amirzada as secretary for doctors affairs.
Azeem Khan Bilour, the grandson of veteran politician Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, was made secretary of youth affairs while Wagma Baezai was elected as secretary for youth affairs (women) of the party.
Ubaidullah Abid was elected as central additional general secretary, Aurangzeb Khan as deputy general secretary and Javed Kakar as additional deputy general secretary of the party.
Similarly, Hussain Ahmad (Khan of Nawab) and Shagufta Malik from KP, Muhammad Anwar Khan and Shaheena Kakar from Balochistan, Bahadar Khan and Hudiba Rafiq from Punjab, Hanif Shah Agha and Urooj Ghafoor from Sindh and Qazi Izhar and Saima Bashir from Islamabad and Dr Mohammad Ikram and Nosheen Khan from Saraiki unit were elected as joint secretaries of the party.
Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari extended warm felicitations to the newly elected President of the Awami National Party (ANP), Senator Aimal Wali Khan. Bilawal in his congratulatory message to Senator Aimal Wali Khan expressed his confidence that the legacy of democracy and progressive ideology, rooted in the principles of Bacha Khan, will continue to flourish under Aimal Wali Khan’s leadership. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the transition of leadership within political parties to the younger generation marks the onset of a promising new chapter. “I remain optimistic that the trajectory of Pakistan’s future is bright and promising,” he added.