ANP won’t be part of any agitation on Panama Leaks

Mian Iftikhar condemns ‘maltreatment’ of Afghan refugees; wants indiscriminate action against terrorism, completion of CPEC’s western route

PESHAWAR: The Secretary General of the Awami National Party (ANP), Mian Iftikhar Hussain, on Monday said his party wanted a solution to the Panama Leaks issue in parliament and it would stay away from any agitation in the name of its investigation.

“No one should set the precedent of launching a protest march on the house of a political rival. This trend, if started, won’t stop anywhere,” Mian Iftikhar told The News.

He shared his views and his party’s stand about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s proposed protest march towards Raiwind, which houses the residence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on September 24. The ANP leader said the party’s stance on the issue was very much clear as they wanted the issue to be resolved in parliament in an amicable and transparent manner.

“What I believe is that the opposition should have given a free hand to the government to investigate the issue. As the prime minister’s name had not been directly mentioned in the Panama Leaks, he should have been spared for the time being and the cases of his children should have been investigated properly,” stated Mian Iftikhar, a former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister.

He added that PTI chief Imran Khan himself owned offshore companies and the names of his party’s top leaders were also there in the Panama Papers. “But the strategy of protest he has adopted is seemingly not well. This is the reason that his own coalition partners like the Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan Awami Tehreek have announced not to become part of the Raiwind march,” he argued.

He said a peaceful protest was the political right of every party and everyone has his own style. “But I believe taking processions to someone’s residence cannot be justified,” he stressed.

The ANP has convened successive top-level meetings at the central and provincial levels soon after Eid. Asked about the purpose of the meetings, Mian Iftikhar said that holding meetings from time to time was a constitutional need of the party. “In view of the prevailing situation in the country, there is also a dire need to discuss various issues and work out a strategy,” he added.  About the issue of terrorism, Mian Iftikhar repeated his demand of the federal government to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) in its true spirit to rid the country of the menace of terrorism, once and for all.

Mian Iftikhar himself has survived several attempts on his life and has lost his lone son Mian Rashid to terrorism. He is still on the hitlist of terrorists. But he is resolute to express his opinion against terrorism in a categorical manner.

He is of the opinion that by taking partial actions, terrorism cannot be fully eradicated. “If the government and security institutions want to overcome the issue, they will have to take across-the-board action against all kinds of terrorist outfits in all parts of the country,” he remarked.

He said that over 70 terrorist organisations were active in Punjab and still discrimination was being made between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban. This notion of good and bad should be done away with and stern action should be taken against all of them, he said.

Regarding the Afghan refugees, the ANP secretary general said that giving respect to the refugees was in the interest of Pakistan. He said that Pakistan hosted them for such a long time and should tackle the issue carefully keeping in view the repercussions.

He said that harassment of the refugees and sending them back to their country by force was against the UN principles. He said that such an attitude would lead to deterioration in ties between the two brotherly Muslim neighbouring countries.

“Worsened ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan will benefit the terrorists only,” he added.

He maintained that Pakistan should also not close the Afghan trade with India through the Wagah border as in reaction Afghanistan would ban the use of its land routes to Central Asia as stated in a recent statement issued from the Afghan presidential palace.

About the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Mian Iftikhar said that they were not opposed to completion of the CPEC route in Punjab. 

“We won’t oppose if 20 more such projects are completed in Punjab. What we want is that Pakhtuns and other smaller nations of the country should not be deprived of their rights. They should be given their due share to overcome the sense of deprivation among them,” he said.

He said the prime minister himself had announced to complete the western route of the project. “If the prime minister failed to fulfil his commitment, it would enhance the sense of deprivation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added. 

The ANP leader also criticised the statement of KP chief minister  on the Afghan refugees. He said the chief minister was neither aware of international and regional situation nor the interest of the country.