Militants regrouping in KP, claims ANP leader

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) on Wednesday warned that a new wave of terrorism was emerging in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that would engulf the entire country if not controlled at this stage.

“The terrorists are regrouping in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan told reporters after a meeting of the party’s office-bearers here.

He asked the government to contain the spread of extremism and terrorism, adding that failure to take concrete steps would send the message that the government or state institutions were part of it.

Aimal Wali also came down hard on the government over poor governance. “Officials are not allowed to work and are being transferred frequently, which has affected their performance,” he said, adding, “The BRT project is the example of the provincial government’s bad governance.”

The ANP leader said that the National Accountability Bureau must investigate the corruption in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. The report about the fire incidents in the BRT buses was not shared with the public, he added.

The recruitment in the BRT was made after getting bribes, he said, adding, the positions in other government departments in the province were not filled on merit but were given to the ‘highest bidders.’

Aimal Wali aid that the province would have benefited had the money wasted on the BRT been spent on the development projects in the merged districts. He criticised the government for not spending the promised Rs100 billion on the development of merged districts.

He also criticised the government for not providing proper assistance to the flood affectees in Malakand division. The Prime Minister should have visited these areas, he said. The ANP leader vowed to oppose the uniform curriculum in the country, saying that it was against the 18th constitutional amendment.

Aimal Wali said his party had been demanding across the board accountability, adding that it should not be restricted to politicians but generals, judges and journalists must also be made accountable. He said that the current mechanism of accountability to target opposition was not acceptable.