Teachers jirga honoured: Aimal Wali postpones visit to Edwardes College

PESHAWAR: Provincial president of the Awami National Party (ANP) Aimal Wali Khan on Monday postponed his visit to historical Edwardes College Peshawar after a delegation of teachers from the educational institution visited Wali Bagh in Charsadda and requested him to re-think his planned visit.

The ANP leader had announced to visit the Edwardes College Peshawar on October 4 (today) and speak there in response to the alleged abusive language used by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan against him and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The PTI chief had visited the 122-year-old college recently where he made some controversial remarks against the ANP and JUIF leadership during his address to the students.

According to a press release issued by the party’s secretariat, ANP provincial president postponed his scheduled visit to Edwardes College after a delegation of teachers and administration staff visited Wali Bagh.

The teachers told the ANP leader that the delegation should be considered a Pashtoon jirga. They requested him to postpone his planned visit to the college. The vice-principal of the college led the jirga.

Aimal Wali Khan told the jirga members said Edwardes College was among the first missionary educational institutions established during the British era in Peshawar and had a great contribution to the education of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but a so-called politician had vitiated the atmosphere there by using abusive language in the presence of teachers and students.

“The educational institutions must be used for imparting education and carrying out positive activities,” the ANP leader said and added that the students had invited him to the college where he was supposed to talk about their future role in the country’s progress and its people.Aimal Wali Khan told the delegation that he had postponed his visit to the college scheduled for October 4, adding he and senior ANP leadership would visit the college later.