Ex-leader Shah Nawaz claims ANP facing rift between Haider Hoti, Aimal Wali

PESHAWAR: A former leader of the Awami National Party in Swabi who had contested the general election as an independent claimed that the party’s poor performance in the district which had been its stronghold was due to the grouping in the party.

Talking to The News on Tuesday, Shah Nawaz Khanzada said Topi tehsil had traditionally been a stronghold of ANP as Sarfaraz Khan had won the provincial assembly seat twice in the past.

He said the ANP workers in Topi tehsil either joined his group or switched to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) after the rift.

The party has been eliminated in Topi tehsil where 70 percent party organisations joined his group, he said.

To a question about his chances of rejoining the party again, he replied, “Absolutely not, under no circumstances. It is my opinion that this party talks about Pakhtuns, but doesn’t bother to take steps for bringing the estranged workers back to the party,” he maintained.

“Haider Hoti has always claimed that he would take steps to bring back the disgruntled workers to the party, but he did not make any attempt for pacifying hundreds of ANP workers in Swabi district,” he added.

He said nobody in the party made reconciliatory steps as the ANP leaders were hopeful of their victory which made them arrogant.

“They were arrogant to the point that they even disregarded workers’ apprehensions,” he claimed, adding, he and Sarfaraz Khan were the victim of the tussle between Aimal Wali Khan and Ameer Haider Hoti.

He claimed the two leaders were in a state of war over becoming the next chief minister. “They even went to Saudi Arabia and both swore at Khana Ka’aba that Haider Hoti would become chief minister after the 2018 polls while Aimal Wali Khan would get the chance after the next election,” he claimed.

He said that Aimal Wali Khan backtracked on the pledge when he sensed victory and targetted every supporter of Haider Hoti who had the potential of winning the election.

To a question as to why Haider Hoti did not intervene in this situation, he said Haider Hoti was cornered and could not play any role.

When asked why Asfandyar Wali Khan did not perform a conciliatory role in the tussle between Haider Hoti and Aimal Wali, he said Asfandyar Wali had handed over the party’s affairs to his son.

Shah Nawaz Khanzada said every party worker was aware of the grouping in the party, but could not publicly discuss the issue due to fear of disciplinary action.

“The divide between the two groups is so wide that they didn’t vote for the candidates of the rival group. The division has reached the grassroots’ level,” he claimed.

He said that he was a victim and witness to this situation. He claimed the differences would become public in the intra-party election.

Shah Nawaz Khanzada said that the rift between the two leaders could be understood when one look at the statements of Aimal Wali Khan after the election. “Haider Hoti has not made any allegation of rigging in election the way his rival group did,” he pointed out.

When contacted, ANP’s provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak dismissed the claims of grouping in the party. “These are mere speculations. Nobody could think of grouping in ANP,” he claimed. He added that those who could not get party ticket resorted to such speculation.

Regarding the failure of ANP in its strongholds like Swabi, he blamed the rigging in election as the reason. He said the media had been used in the country in support of a specific party. “The media was weak and it was either hijacked or forced into this role,” he argued.

“There is no second opinion about the media’s one-sided role as it was manipulated in support of one party during the last five years,” he said.

The ANP leader said questions have been raised about the judiciary’s role, poor performance of Election Commission and accountability institutions. He said these factors had contributed to the present outcome of polls and Swabi or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was no exception.