KARACHI: The Awami National Party is stuck in a sticky situation.
Their defeat in last year's general elections has forced them to lay low - none of the party's leaders in Sindh managed to bag a seat despite a strong Pakhtoon presence in Karachi.
Now, the party's Sindh division seems to be in trouble as two of the party's local leaders are at loggerheads.
The issue
Aman Mehsud, and some other party leaders were not happy with this year's intraparty elections. Sources believe, this may lead them to join another party, form another faction or join ANP-Wali, led by Naseem Wali Khan who is the step-mother of ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan.
Mehsud, a former MPA, is supported by the party's former Sindh presidents: Haji Lali Shah, Gul Umardad Khan, Iqbal Kakar and ANP Sindh Council member Ali Khan Buneri. They are demanding a position in the party at provincial or central level as they believe the intraparty elections were conducted in way which favoured people who close to Senator Shahi Syed, who is the party's president in Sindh.
Initially, Bashir Jan, the party's former general secretary in Sindh, was also having differences with Shahi Syed but told The Express Tribune, that he would stay with the party and work as a 'karkun'.
"Bashir Jan might have changed his mind, but we have not," said Mehsud. "Our options are open. We can join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or the Pakistan Peoples Party if we want to." He added that if the party's central leadership in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa (K-P) did not reach out to them and negotiate, they would have to take a stand.
He claimed that he was not doing this for a position in the party and would have worked as just another worker, but things were not the same any more.
According to a source in the party, Bashir Jan failed was not given a position in the party as he was considered a threat to Shahi Syed. Younus Buneri replaced Jan as the party's general secretary in Sindh. Buneri, the source said, is among those close to Shahi Syed.
The party source added that as the intraparty elections were held at Shahi Syed residence, no one dared to vote against him.
Shahi Syed, who spends most of his time in Islamabad or Dubai, does not interact with party workers or activists in public due to security threats. Jan and Mehsud, unlike the senator, attend party events, funerals and other gatherings.
"In Pakhtoons, if you can't attend funerals or share each other's joys, you can't be a good leader," said Mehsud. "You need to give people time and address their problems."
Jan and Mehsud had submitted nomination paper for a position at the party's centre but had to withdraw as both of them had no support in Sindh. While talking to The Express Tribune, Younus Buneri said that they were negotiating with Mehsud and the others.
Shahi Syed, however, claimed that no one was upset with the party or leaving it. "Those who did not win this time will try again in the next party elections," he said. "For now, everyone will carry on."
Party background
The ANP started gaining strength in Sindh after the Pakthoons in Karachi formed the Pakhtoon Action Committee (PAC) in 2006 to secure the rights of the city's Pashto-speaking population.
In the 2008 general elections, the party managed to secure two seats in the provincial assembly from SITE and Landhi. In the 2013 elections, however, the party did not win any.
In 2007, the party had bloody clashes with another political party which continued till 2012. Although several party members and activists died, the party maintained a brave face. Party leaders believe that it wasn't the political rivalry, but the militancy that troubled them. "It was militancy which shattered the party not only in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but also in Karachi where the militants targeted leaders with guns and bombs," said Shahi Syed.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2014.
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