Mian Iftikhar urges rulers to revisit state policies

NOWSHERA: Awami National Party (ANP) provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on Thursday that leadership of all the political parties and the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would march peacefully toward Islamabad to protest the ongoing undeclared military operations and the indifference of state policymakers regarding terrorism in the region on August 23.

Speaking at a press conference here, he warned that the protest would be peaceful, but if any attempt was made to stop it, the government would be responsible for any untoward incident.ANP activists, including district general secretary Atlas Khattak and others, were also present.

Mian Iftikhar claimed that areas such as Bajaur, Kurram, Tirah, Parachinar and Waziristan were being deliberately destabilised, while the provincial and federal governments along with the establishment were only blaming each other and watching silently.

He stressed that Pakistan must not become a proxy battleground for other countries under the guise of state policies.He alleged that first Russia, then US and now in the tension between China and the US, innocent Pakhtuns were being sacrificed.

The ANP leader demanded full implementation of the National Action Plan, saying that relying solely on military courts to enforce a single point of the plan is inadequate.He questioned why operations were being conducted in Bajaur, but the 72 banned organisations in Punjab remained untouched. He also expressed concerns that the unrest in tribal areas was linked to the desire to exploit mines and minerals, which he called unacceptable.

About regional security, he said that while the world showed concern over Pakistan-India tensions, the continuous unrest along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was being ignored.