Asfandyar likens accountability to victimisation

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan on Thursday said the existing situation had made it difficult to differentiate between accountability and victimisation.

Speaking at a press conference at the Bilour House, he said nobody opposed the accountability process but there must be a distinction between accountability and victimisation. “Accountability should have been above political objectives,” he said, adding, political parties may have people of bad repute but an impression is being created that those who are supporting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief are good people while the rest are corrupt,” he argued.

Asfandyar Wali said the government and opposition were important elements of democracy. The opposition was being eliminated paving the way for a civilian martial law, he added.

He said Nawaz Sharif’s sons Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Nawaz were asked to provide the money trail but the case of Kaptaan [Prime Minister Imran Khan] ’s sister was settled after a fine. “Both parties should have been treated under the same law,” he said, adding, fair accountability would have exposed the corrupt elements and traced the money trail of the accused.

Asfandyar Wali said former president Asif Ali Zardari was accused of maintaining every benami account in Sindh. The Supreme Court had disqualified PTI leader Jehangir Tareen but he was chairing official meetings, he maintained.

He said Imran Khan during his visits to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had accused him of owning hotels and plazas in Malaysia but did not reveal the location of these properties. “I request Imran Khan to provide me information about my properties abroad so that I can sell them and contribute to the Chief Justice Dam Fund,” he said sarcastically. He reminded that Imran Khan’s sister, in fact, owned properties abroad.

The ANP chief said Imran Khan had always blamed previous governments for taking loans, but his government should inform the nation about the burden the rupee devaluation would add to the debts.

“The devaluation of rupee has made life miserable for the poor as it has not only swollen the debts but led to price-hike,” he claimed. Asfandyar Wali said it was strange that the government considered the loans as revenue generation.

Commenting on the situation in the tribal districts, he said the system there had been abolished but the proposed new system wasn’t implemented creating a vacuum. He asked the government to fill the vacuum or else it would create a multitude of problems for the country. The ANP chief said the federal government had stopped providing Sindh its share in finances by claiming that the Sindh government was corrupt and the federal government would itself spend the money.

He warned the prime minister of the consequences of insulting the leadership of Sindh, saying that one day Kaptaan would face the same treatment. He termed the government action a violation of the 18th Amendment and warned of its consequences for the federation.

He said Rao Anwar retired from the police service but was not punished. “We were mourning the treatment meted out to Naqibullah Mahsud when the incident of Tahir Dawar happened,” he said.

The ANP president claimed that Tahir Dawar’s case investigation report had been provided to the prime minister and asked him to make it public. He believed SP Tahir Dawar would have not been kidnapped and killed had the National Action Plan been implemented. About the Afghan peace talks, he said Pakistan’s parliament had passed a resolution that said the Afghan dialogue would take place when “it is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned.”

He feared that the Taliban era would return if the Afghan government was not taken into confidence over the issue. The ANP chief said a dangerous game was being played that would bring more destruction. “Today they initiated talks with Taliban and ignored ISIS while in future they would say let’s talk with the ISIS,” he added.

The ANP head seconded Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Sherpao proposal that the Pakhtun leadership should sit together to find a solution to problems. “The Pakhtun leaders should devise a strategy for sustainable peace in the Pakhtun region,” he said.