ANP to protest against lawlessness on July 5

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) announced on Friday to stage a protest for peace to express concern at the worsening lawlessness.

The decision was taken at a party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter meeting at the Bacha Khan Markaz. ANP provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain presided over. KP chapter general secretary of the party, Hussain Shah Yousufzai, party spokesman Arsalan Khan and other office-bearers were also present.

The worsening law and order situation in the province, contacts with other political parties and ANP organizational matters were discussed.It was decided to stage a protest in the Malakand division under the title of “Amn Pasoon”. The demonstration will be staged at the Chakaddara Interchange on July 5 at 3 pm.

The participants of the meeting expressed concern over the precarious law and order situation, rising terror incidents and the reports of an imminent military operation - Operation Azm-e-Istehkham.

Mian Iftikhar said the decision to launch the operation had been taken in haste. “The people already have a distrust in operations and their results,” he said, adding the hasty decision would increase such feelings.

The ANP leader said the parliament and all stakeholders should be taken into account before making a final decision on any anti-terror operation.Mian Iftikhar said people were worried about the reports of the resettlement of 40,000 terrorists and now the likely operation.

“A serious action should be taken against those who had helped terrorists resettle on this land,” he said and added that 102 terrorists who were released from jails should be re-arrested as well.

The ANP leader blamed the present state of affairs on the non-implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). “The situation would have not reached this point had the NAP been fully implemented in the last 10 years,” he said while pointing to the 20-point plan approved on December 24, 2014, after the Army Public School carnage in Peshawar.

Mian Iftikhar said the situation was going from bad to worse. “It will get too late if seriousness was not shown to address the issue,” he added.The ANP leader said the government and the relevant institutions should end the distinction between good and bad insurgents and ensure that all the points mentioned in the NAP were acted upon.

Mian Iftikhar believed that outlawed organizations and terrorists had a presence in Punjab. “Anti-terror actions should be launched first in Punjab,” he suggested.The ANP leader said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been passing through difficult times for the last several years.

“The price-hike and unemployment have made life miserable for the people. Poor governance, denial of provincial rights and non-payment of arrears to the province have compounded the situation,” he went on to add.

Mian Iftikhar said all these issues called for unity of the political forces on a single platform. He said several political parties had already been contacted and a proper invitation would be extended to them for consultation soon.

Kundi declares house in DIK as official residence: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor Faisal Karim Kundi has declared his house in Dera Ismail Khan as his official residence.According to a notification issued on Friday, the governor declared his house at Kundi Model Farm, Chashma Road Dera Ismail Khan, as official residence while exercising powers under section 2 (g) of the Governor’s Salaries, allowances and Privileges Order 1975. The notification issued by the principal secretary stated that the expenditure regarding administration and maintenance will be met from the official budget of the Governor’s House.