Sixth death anniversary of Ajmal Khattak observed

Haider Hoti urges Pakhtuns to get united

NOWSHERA: Former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti on Sunday urged the Pakhtuns to get united in the face of the prevailing challenges.

Speaking at the sixth death anniversary of Ajmal Khattak, he lauded the services of the late poet-politician for the Pakhtun cause and said he had devoted his life for their wellbeing and prosperity.

“Ajmal Khattak was the follower of Bacha Khan and was his political heir,” Hoti maintained. He said the prevailing situation in the country could be improved by following in the the footprints of ANP leaders, including Bacha Khan, Wali Khan and Ajmal Khattak.

Haider Hoti, who is the provincial president of the Awami National Party (ANP), said the Pakhtun-inhabited region and the country had suffered a lot due to terrorism. He stressed the need for taking concrete steps to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the region.

“I am making an appeal that we suffered whatever we could bear. It’s time to cure this cancer, which is destroying our society,” he stressed.

The ANP leader added that the policymakers needed to shun the approach of good and bad Taliban. “We must end the distinction of good and bad as terrorists could never be good,” he argued.

He asked the government to take steps for sending back the internally displaced persons from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) to their homes and rehabilitate the damaged-infrastructure on war footing. “Constitutional and administrative reforms in Fata were the need of the day,” he added.

Hoti said Pakistan alone could not tackle the problem, adding, that India, China and Afghanistan should shoulder the responsibility to defeat terrorism.

Responding to a question about the sovereignty of Afghanistan, he said the international community should respect the independence and territorial integrity of the war-ravaged country. “The Afghan peace process could not be led by any other country except Afghanistan,” he opined.