Fresh polls offer confession of rigging, says Asfandyar

PESHAWAR: Terming Imran Khan’s offer of holding fresh local bodies polls as a confessional statement about rigging, the Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Wednesday called for dissolution of the provincial assembly, resignation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government and holding election for the provincial and local government under a caretaker set-up.
“The captain has confessed to massive rigging in the recent local bodies elections. Now it’s his moral obligation to do away with the provincial government and put in place a caretaker set-up which could arrange provincial assembly and local bodies elections afresh,” he said while talking to the media after a party meeting here.
He was accompanied by top leaders of the party including senior vice-president Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Afrasiab Khattak, Ameer Haider Hoti and Senator Sitara Ayaz.
The ANP leader also stressed the need for amending the Local Government Act, arguing that it is confusing and complicated. He said the PTI chairman Imran Khan was blaming the caretaker chief minister of Punjab Najam Sethi for rigging, but when the same happened in the province ruled by his party he simply shifted the responsibility to the Election Commission.
Asfandyar said they were contacting other political forces and would decide future line of action in consultation with them.He said the coalition partners of the PTI in the provincial government were also complaining of rigging in the polls.
“Among them one party is holding the portfolio of local government. It should at least quit the cabinet for its failure to avert rigging in the polls,” he stressed.
About the election-related violence and killing of scores of people, he said the provincial government was responsible for this as maintenance of law and order was its responsibility, not the Election Commission.
He said that a woman official in Tehkal in Peshawar was badly tortured by the PTI workers. “It is against the Pakhtun values and has exposed the real face of the so-called champions of change,” he stressed.
The ANP chief condemned the recent arrest of Mian Iftikhar Hussain and charging him in a murder case. He said it was no less than a miracle for Mian Iftikhar to remain safe. He said thousands of charged PTI workers had surrounded him and they wanted to kill him.
He said Mian Iftikhar was arrested at 3:30am and the FIR was registered against him two hours later at 5:30am. He ridiculed the statement of the station house officer (SHO) concerned, who had said that Mian Iftikhar had been taken into protective custody.
“I wonder as to what kind of protective custody it was. Mian sahib was charged with the murder and produced in the court with his hands cuffed,” he remarked.
He was thankful to the father of the slain worker of PTI, who exonerated Mian Iftikhar from the murder charge, but said that pressure was still being put on him to retract his statement.
“Let me make it clear to Imran Khan and Pervaiz Khattak that we are familiar with prisons. But you can’t survive without milk and butter. I won’t be a Pakhtun if I failed to avenge the excesses against our workers,” he warned.
The ANP chief was also critical of Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak. He said that a person who kept changing his political affiliation for personal interest could never be a well-wisher of the people.“Pervaiz Khattak changed his political parties from Qaumi Watan Party to Pakistan People’s Party and now to the PTI for vested interest,” he maintained.