Singing the same tune: ANP joins PTI in flaying central govt

Says people of K-P are being denied their rights

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Central Executive Committee of the Awami National Party (ANP) endorsed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s grievances against the central government, saying on Friday that the rights of the province were being denied.

In a resolution passed during a meeting chaired by ANP K-P President Amir Haider Hoti, the party flayed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led central government for privatising Oil and Gas Development Company Limited. It also criticised the prolonged gas and power outages apart from low electricity voltage, urging the federal government to clear hydel net profits and other arrears owed to K-P.

ANP Central President Asfandyar Wali Khan, the party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel and others were also present at the meeting.



Expressing concern over the plight of people displaced from Waziristan and other parts of the tribal belt, the executive council said the PTI-led provincial government must fulfil its responsibility of alleviating the IDPs’ suffering.

The resolutions adopted by the executive committee were released to the media on Friday. They focused on the prevailing law and order situation and IDPs. ANP said the miseries faced by the displaced people were further fueling their existing sense of deprivation.

“Disappointing IDPs is harmful to the interests of the country. Therefore, the government must take timely notice and provide them with adequate health, education and living facilities,” stated the resolution. It added the provincial and central governments must tackle the issue as a humanitarian one.

Through another resolution, the executive committee appreciated party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan for bringing Pukhtun leaders together on the issue of IDPs. “Such efforts from the ANP must be made a continuous process.”

The party also expressed its concern over increasing incidents of terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and extortion. Moreover, the ANP body criticised the PTI-led provincial government for its alleged anti-labour policies, saying it had terminated the services of certain employees. It suggested the ruling party review its stance at the earliest.

Referring to the education curriculum, the ANP said the recent changes made by the PTI government were not only contrary to democracy, but also detrimental to the promotion of international laws on human and individual rights.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2014.