Pakhtuns urged to shun differences

TIMERGARA: Leaders of Awami National party (ANP) on Saturday said Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan alias Bacha Khan spent 37 years in jail for the sake of the rights of Pakhtuns.

Speaking at a ceremony organised by the ANP Lower Dir chapter to mark the death anniversaries of Bacha Khan and his son Abdul Wali Khan, the ANP leaders urged the Pashtuns to shun differences and solve their internal conflicts by adhering to the philosophy of non-violence of Bacha Khan.

ANP central general secretary Salim Khan, district president Haji Bahadar Khan, senior vice-president Malak Sajad Yousafzai, Maulana Khan Zeb, Raja Amir Zaman and others spoke on the occasion. They paid rich tribute to Bacha Khan and Abdul Wali Khan for their unwavering struggle for the rights of Pakhtuns.

They shed light on the life of Bacha Khan and his struggle for the rights of Pakhtuns for which he endured immense hardships and was jailed for a long part of his life.

They lamented that the current turmoil, violence and instability within Pakhtuns society stemmed from non-adherence to Bacha Khan’s philosophy of non-violence.