Undoing 18th Amend to be resisted: ANP Our correspondent

SWABI: The Awami National Party (ANP) on Saturday warned that ANP leaders and workers would be on road if 18th Amendment was tampered with.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was sailing someone else’s boat. He criticised the PTI-led federal government for presenting three budgets in one year.

He said that his party founders had rightly declared the Afghan ‘jihad’ as‘fasaad’.

He was speaking at a function held in connection with the death anniversaries of Khudai Khidmat Tehreek founder Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan aka Bacha Khan and Khan Abdul Wali Khan at the ANP’s headquarters, Bacha Khan Markaz

He said his forefathers had said 40 years ago that the war in Afghanistan was not ‘jihad’.

Asfandyar Wali said the Hamoodur Rehman Commission had not been made public till date, arguing that nobody questioned as to why the country lost its eastern part.

Demanding a halt to the destruction and restoration of viable peace to the soil of the Pakhtuns, he said the blood of the Pakhtuns was spilt during the last 40 years.

He said the peace initiative for Afghanistan was a good omen and they were praying for its success. However, he said the peace process would be a futile exercise without involving the Afghan government in the talks.

The ANP leader said no new law had been implemented in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) after the merger and it was causing concern among residents of these areas.

He said peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan could not be restored without making the merged tribal districts peaceful.

He expressed concern over the continuation of enforced disappearances, adding, the relatives of the missing had been waiting for the return of their loved ones.

The ANP chief demanded that the missing persons should be produced before the courts.

He expressed concern over the Khaisor in Waziristan incident and regretted that his party leadership was not allowed to visit the area. He said the Sahiwal incident was linked to the Naqeebullah Mehsud’s killing case. “Had the killers of Naqeebullah Mehsud been punished, the Sahiwal incident would not have happened,” he added.

Asfandyar Wali also came down hard on the PTI-led government for pursuing what he termed flawed policies. “The seriousness of PTI chief Imran Khan can be gauged from the fact that he presented three budgets in the last six months,” he argued.

Asfandyar termed the accountability process as one-sided. “Those in the opposition are being arrested while the ones in the government are enjoying freedom in similar cases,” he maintained.

Earlier, ANP provincial president Ameer Haider Hoti accused the federal government of conspiring against the smaller provinces.

He was addressing a gathering at Gar village to mark the death anniversaries of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement, and his son Khan Abdul Wali Khan.

A large number of party leaders and workers from Swabi, Mardan and Buner attended the gathering.

Haider Hoti warned the government against amending the 18th Amendment. He said those working against the provincial autonomy would face tough resistance from the ANP.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, the ANP leader said that the country was faced with economic instability and political anarchy.

He said that no hope of any good should be attached to those who had claimed to change the destiny of Pakistan.

Haider Hoti said that his party believed in the philosophy of non-violence and advocated peace and economic prosperity of the people. He said that wars could not resolve issues as conflicts pushed nations towards starvation.