ANP, ANP-Wali reunite as differences end

PESHAWAR: Differences finally came to an end as the two factions of the Pakhtun nationalist Awami National Party (ANP) formally announced reunification after a family gathering of the leadership at Wali Bagh in Charsadda district on Tuesday.

Wali Bagh is the hometown of the founders and current leadership of ANP. The two factions were also headed by no one else but by the stepmother — Begum Nasim Wali Khan — and the son — Asfandyar Wali Khan.

The younger generation of the family was holding key positions in both the factions.

These young leaders include Ameer Haider Hoti, provincial president of ANP, Aimal Wali Khan, the additional general secretary of ANP, and Lawangeen Khan, central leader of ANP-Wali. They are the great grandsons of the late Abdul Ghaffar Khan, commonly known as Bacha Khan, and grandsons of late Abdul Wali Khan - played a key role in reuniting their elders.

The group photo of the family reunion showing Nasim Wali, Asfandyar Wali, Ameer Haider Hoti, Aimal Wali and Lawangeen Khan went viral on the social media soon after it was released from the official Twitter and Facebook accounts of the ANP.

Subsequently, a communiqué jointly signed by Nasim Wali Khan, chairperson of ANP-Wali and Asfandyar Wali, central president of ANP, was issued from the central headquarters of the party - Bacha Khan Markaz in Peshawar - wherein the merger of the two parties was formally announced. 

The joint communiqué was quickly followed by a press release of the central secretary general of the ANP Mian Iftikhar Hussain, which carried a very important message in a lighter tone.

Mian Iftikhar welcomed the reconciliation between Nasim Wali and Asfandyar Wali, but made it clear that Farid Khan Toofan, a former senior leader of ANP, two-time former minister and current provincial president of ANP-Wali, was not part of the deal.

It meant that Farid Toofan was still not being allowed to rejoin the ANP. He had been expelled from the party in 2005 and a 10-year ban was imposed on him. The ban has, however, expired, but even now he is not allowed to rejoin the party. 

The joint communiqué in its introductory paragraph paid glowing tributes to Bacha Khan, and his son Abdul Wali Khan.

Their philosophy of non-violence and social services was mentioned in detail. Special focus was put on their role and work for reconciliation in the Pakhtun society.

The document said that Bacha Khan and Wali Khan visited every village, house and hujra in the Pakhtun land to end enmities, feuds and rivalries among the Pakhtuns and their efforts bore fruit.

The statement also talked about the differences between Nasim Wali and Asfandyar Wali.

It recalled that sometimes back political differences emerged between the ANP leaders due to which the party was divided into two factions.

However, it noted that in view of the political situation, the leaders of both the factions felt the need for ending their differences and reuniting for promotion of the philosophy of peace of Bacha Khan and politics of Wali Khan. 

It added that the efforts for reunifying the two factions proved successful. “Both the factions would now follow the same constitution, manifesto and programme of the party,” it stated. 

Differences in the family had emerged after the death of the Rahbar-e-Tehreek of the party Abdul Wali Khan in 2005.

The same year, the central chief of the party Asfandyar Wali dissolved the provincial organisations of the party and deposed Nasim Wali from her position as the provincial chief. He also terminated the basic membership of Farid Toofan, the then general secretary of the party.

The party, however, remained united and the deposed leaders silently and reluctantly accepted the decision. But in 2013, a senior ANP leader, Azam Khan, who was the brother of Nasim Wali and father of the then chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti, went public to express his reservations and levelled serious allegations against the ANP leaders, mainly Asfandyar Wali. 

Later, after the heavy defeat of the party in the 2013 general election, Nasim Wali poured out her heart. She blamed the party leadership for the failure in the polls. She also convened a grand meeting of the disgruntled leaders of the party and announced formation of a new party, ANP-Wali.

Though some important and senior members of the ANP joined the ANP-Wali, it failed to muster support of the general public and was unable to takeoff. In the 2015 local government elections, ANP-Wali failed to secure any success anywhere in the province. 

Even now the ANP-Wali isn’t popular with the masses. However, its merger carries huge symbolic significance for the ANP, which needed a boost to be able to do well in the next year’s general election.