PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) is set to start work on the formation of the Pakhtun Jirga after the conclusion of the Bacha Khan Week on January 26.
ANP central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain told The News that his party leadership would discuss the composition and scope of the jirga that would work for resolving the problems faced by the Pakhtuns across the country. He said ANP would contact other stakeholders to move forward after preparing a detailed plan and programme of action. ANP central President Asfandyar Wali Khan at a rally in Nowshera on January 20 had announced the constitution of the Pakhtun Jirga to work for resolving the problems facing the Pakhtuns in Pakistan. He had tasked the party’s Senior Vice-President Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and central General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain to form the jirga. The ANP chief had resolved to make efforts for uniting the Pakhtuns and bringing them together to launch struggle for their rights. Besides the constitution of the jirga, he had directed the party’s provincial office-bearers to invite elders and other stakeholders from the tribal districts to the Bacha Khan Markaz to discuss their problems. The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai in an interview with a private television channel welcomed the ANP move to convene the jirga. However, he said, the jirga should be held at an open space anywhere in the country.