Asfandyar asks CJ to take notice of corruption in tree tsunami

Ag agencies

MINGORA: The Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan Sunday asked Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to take notice of corruption in the Billion Tree Tsunami project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The ANP leader was addressing a rally in Saidu Sharif, where he said that the time isn’t far when people will hold Imran accountable. “The chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should tell if only Nawaz owns offshore companies?” he said. He claimed that there are people in KP who own up to 35 offshore companies. The ANP leader demanded that KP should be merged with the Fata, adding that the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai also opposes the merger. In a staunch criticism of the PTI chief, Asfandyar Wali had said that Imran Khan cursed the Parliament being a part of the institution. Asking the government to revisit both its internal and external policies, Asfandyar said that terrorism had not been eliminated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but its nursery had been silenced temporarily by giving it Rs570 million. He clearly meant the Darul Uloom Haqqania of Maulana Samiul Haq in Akora Khattak that has received funding from the PTI-led government in KP. He said Maulana Samiul Haq is laying in the hospital after being cheated by the PTI.

He maintained that the country's internal and external policies had failed. "It is time to revisit these failed policies and give the nation the right direction," he said.

Asfandyar said that those claiming change in KP and blaming the ANP for corruption could not hide their own corruption now. He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation against the proponents of change had exposed their wrongdoings. He demanded across the board accountability of every person named in the Panama Papers scandal instead of targeting Nawaz Sharif alone.

Asfandyar said that his party had been demanding resolving political issues in the Parliament. He asked politicians to uphold the sanctity of the Parliament and refrain from taking political issues to the courts.

Commenting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the ANP president said the project should be called China-Punjab corridor as the smaller provinces were not being given their share in CPEC.

He said his party was not against the development of Punjab, but it should not be developed at the cost of smaller units of the federation. He asked the masses to forge unity ahead of the next general elections and punish those who had deceived them during the last five years of their rule. "Pakhtuns can safeguard their rights only through unity in their ranks," he argued.

The ANP chief criticised the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) for making efforts for the restoration of the religio-political alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). He said the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman enjoyed the perks of government for five years and now that the term of the government and the assemblies is about to end, he wanted to restore the MMA to find means to return to power.