ANP protests abduction of its leader from Quetta

Party leaders claim that their sacrifices will not go in vain.

KARACHI: To protest the abduction of former Awami National Party (ANP) Balochistan president, party leaders and activists in Karachi held a demonstration outside the press club on Friday.

The ANP Sindh leaders joined hands with representatives of their sister organisation, Pakhtun Student Federation, to  protest the abduction of its party leader, Arbab Zahir Kasi, from Quetta on Wednesday. Kasi was on his way to visit a relative when some unidentified men abducted him near an intersection on Patel Road.

The protesters, clad in red shawls and caps, were holding hand-written placards demanding Kasi’s recovery and the exposure of his kidnappers. “Kasi was a follower of Bacha Khan’s teachings. His abduction is a clear sign that there are elements that do not want the ANP to work or even exist in any part of the country,” claimed Noorullah Achakzai, an ANP Sindh leader, while addressing the protesters from a vehicle carrying the sound system.



“The whole country must unite and fight terrorism and extremism,” he urged. “Now, it is only the ANP that is under threat, soon the threat will extend to every political party and individual,” he warned. The protesters demanded the Balochistan government to immediately release Kasi and arrest the culprits involved.

ANP Sindh chapter’s former general-secretary Bashir Jan linked the abduction of Kasi with the chain of attacks on ANP from the extremists.

“ANP is being targeted because we fought against those who refused to obey the Constitution of Pakistan and its law,” he argued.

He said that his party was adamant on their stance against terrorism and would remain undeterred by all attacks and threats.

“We want to eradicate terrorism from this country,” Jan said, adding that the party’s central leadership will announce its future plans regarding Kasi’s kidnapping later.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2013.