PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) senior vice-president Ameer Haider Hoti on Saturday expressed concern over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan citing security threat as a reason for postponing the election in the merged districts.
Talking to reporters after the party think-tank’s meeting at the Bacha Khan Markez, he said the letter was ambiguous as it had not explained the nature of the threat and the government’s steps to overcome it in just 20 days.
He said his party demanded holding of the election in the merged district forthwith to provide representation to the people of these areas in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Ameer Haider Hoti condemned imposition of section 144 in certain areas of the merged districts and demanded an end to the ban on political activities to allow candidates to hold their election-related activities.
He asked the ECP to refrain from repeating the mistakes of the July 25, 2018 general election. He said ANP had written a letter to ECP but had received a very negative response.
He cautioned that further questions would be raised and criticism directed towards the army in case the soldiers were deployed inside the polling stations.
He maintained that arrest of Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders amounted to political victimization. He said his party respects the courts but Advisor for Information’s prediction about former president’s arrest before the court verdict had created suspicions.
He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should be free from all kinds of pressure and be able to conduct free and fair accountability.
“The opposition leaders were being arrested but action against treasury members hasn’t been taken despite completion of inquiries, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he argued.
He said his party would hold protest rallies in the province on June 24 to demand from NAB to take action against billions of rupees corruption in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The ANP leader asked the Speaker National Assembly to issue production orders of the two MNAs from North and South Waziristan. He said Prime Minister should inform the nation about the steps taken by his government over the past 10 months for restoring confidence between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He said the country had witnessed bloodshed for a very long time and could not bear more violence. He asked the government to fulfill its responsibility and implement the National Action Plan.
Regarding the reference about Justice Qazi Faez Isa, he said the government had showed its bias as it considers anyone upholding the Constitution a threat. He asked the government to withdraw the reference and avoid pressuring the judiciary.
He asked the political leaders across the country to unite against the threat to the country and pledged that his party would become part of any movement against the government.
