ANP chief warns against undoing 18th Amendment

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) has said that the task given to Prime Minister Imran Khan by the “unseen forces” for undoing the 18th Constitutional Amendment would not be easy to accomplish.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan said the 18th Amendment was linked with the bright future of Pakhtuns. “Undoing it would not only affect Pakhtuns, but also other small ethnic groups that have suffered for years,” he maintained.

He also expressed concern over the cut in the provinces’ share in the National Finance Commission award and advised the government to avoid meddling with the 18th Amendment as this could have dire consequences.

The ANP chief said that the cut in the NFC share of the provinces would be unconstitutional. “Allocating share for the newly merged tribal districts in the NFC award was a welcome step as the previous National Assembly and the Council of Common Interests had also recommended such steps,” he added.

He said that Fata’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been done through a constitutional procedure and the Constitution made no mention of cutting the share of other provinces for allocating funds for development projects in the tribal districts.

He said the 18th Amendment was the only solution to addressing the sense of deprivation of the small provinces and any step to reverse the process would face resistance. The provinces’ share could only be reduced through a constitutional amendment, he argued.

Asfandyar Wali pointed out that the constitutional amendment had clearly stated that the federal government would make Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stronger financially. He asked the federal government to complete the merger process forthwith and initiate development projects in the tribal districts. He also demanded holding of provincial assembly elections in the erstwhile Fata.