Mian Iftikhar questions his ‘targeting by terrorists’

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Tuesday said that he could not understand why terrorists had planned to target him for raising voice against rigging in election.

Speaking to the party workers in Pabbi, the ANP leader questioned why terrorists would target him for speaking for the rights of the people and democracy. “I am not afraid of being martyred for serving the humanity as I am the follower of Bacha Khan,” he said, adding that such tactics could not discourage him from speaking against the injustices meted out to the people.

He said that he had been receiving threats for opposing terrorists and terrorism since the time his party ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “It was logical because the ANP was on the forefront in the war against terrorism,” he maintained.

However, he said, he was unable to comprehend why he was being targetted for taking a stance on democracy-related issues. He said that he did not need a seat in the parliament for serving his people but deplored that such threat alerts were impeding his mission.

Mian Iftikhar told his supporters that he had not lost the election but in fact the election was stolen from him. “The application for a recount was rejected as it would have exposed the massive rigging in the election,” he claimed, saying that Election Commission of Pakistan and caretaker government had no authority in conducting election. Mian Iftikhar said that the state would be responsible if anything happened to him.