Aimal Wali says ANP approached for forming new alliance

PESHAWAR: The provincial president of the Awami National Party (ANP) Aimal Wali Khan has said his party parted ways with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) due to what he believed was the dominating attitude of certain elements within the opposition alliance.

Talking to media persons after the provincial executive council meeting of the party here on Wednesday, he said some political parties had approached the ANP leadership for launching a new political alliance but the party had not taken a final decision on that.

Flanked by senior party leader Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the ANP provincial president added the executive council members of the party decided to start mobilize the party organizations and workers at divisional level across the province.

“The ANP will take part in the upcoming local government polls in the province,” he added. Aimal Wali Khan condemned the chaos and pandemonium in the National Assembly by the treasury benches during opposition leader Mian Shahbaz Sharif speech. He said that the ‘selected’ and ‘selectors’ were trying to defame and damage the genuine politicians, parliament and other democratic institutions.

Aimal Wali said that the ANP had already rejected the federal annual budget for 2021-22 which had been presented by a non-elected person at the behest of the International Monetary Fund.

He said the share of KP had been reduced compared to the last financial year while the province had not been promised to pay its due shares and arrears in account of net hydel profit.

The ANP leader criticized the KP government for its alleged silence over reduction of the province share in the federal budget and depriving the merged districts of the national resources.

He said the federal government had promised that three percent share would be given to the former tribal areas in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award while a 10-year developmental plan for the tribal districts would be implemented as per the amendment in the Constitution.

However, he added, that the federal government had neither announced the NFC Award nor reflected the promised sum for the tribal district in the annual budget. He said the militants were once again regrouping in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan but the government had turned a deaf ear to their activities.

He claimed that some of the extremist and Jehadi organisations were openly collecting funds for their organizations in mosques and other public places.

Aimal Wali said the ANP had always opposed the terrorism in any form and in any part of the country, adding that there were no good or bad Taliban but all the militants were the enemies of religion, country and human beings.