Tributes paid to Haroon Bilour on death anniversary

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) on Saturday held a function to pay homage to its slain leader Haroon Bilour, who was killed in a suicide attack on a corner meeting in Yakatoot locality in the provincial capital on July 10, 2018.

The function was held to mark the third death anniversary of the ANP leader.

ANP leaders Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Senator Hidayatullah, Aimal Wali Khan, Sardar Hussain Babak, Samar Bilour and others attended the function. Speaking on the occasion, former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti said the Pakhtuns were still facing the consequences of the mistakes made 40 years back.

He urged the rulers to avoid repeating the past mistakes to stop the killings of the Pakhtuns.

Haider Hoti recalled that the ANP leaders at the time had warned the then rulers about the consequences the country could face for supporting the war effort in Afghanistan.

He deplored that instead of heeding the warning, their leaders were dubbed as traitors. “The prediction of our leaders was correct,” he remarked.

The ANP leader said that his party rendered matchless sacrifices for the restoration of peace. He said the ANP lost hundreds of party workers and leaders, including Haroon Bilour and his father Bashir Bilour to acts of subversion. Haider Hoti said that the people of Afghanistan should make a decision about their future. He added that war was not the solution to any issue, calling for talks to help bring peace to Afghanistan.

He said the ANP welcomed the talks between the Afghan Taliban and the government in Iran. He maintained that Pakistan, Iran, Russia, China and the US should play a role in bringing peace to Afghanistan.