ANP leader asks Afghan factions to amicably resolve issues

SWABI: Awami National Party central vice-president Ameer Haider Hoti said that Afghan factions should sit across the table with one another and strike a solution acceptable to all of them.

He was addressing workers’ convention here on Monday. Former provincial Minister Zarshid Khan, ex-adviser to chief minister, Mukhtiar Khan, Saleem Khan advocate, former provincial general secretary, various office-bearers and workers attended the convention.

Haider Hoti said the ANP leaders would continue their struggle to restore peace in the war-ravaged Afghanistan. Pakistan was badly affected by the Afghan war, he said, adding that peace in Afghanistan would be a good omen for Pakistan and for the entire South Asian region.

Haider Hoti, who was chief minister when terrorism was at its peak in the country, said that Afghanistan soil should not be used against Pakistan and similarly, Pakistan should never ever allow its territory to be used against Afghanistan. He recalled that when the former Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan, the late Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan advised the then Pakistani rulers to stay away from the superpowers rivalry.

The girls should be allowed to acquire quality education and the door of knowledge should not be closed on them, he said. However, he said that they would wait and see that what is Pakistan’s government policy against those forces which challenged the state and indulged in numerous incidents of terrorism.