ANP’s Charsadda rally slams ‘poll rigging’

Announces protest outside the provincial assembly during its inaugural session

PESHAWAR:

Awami National Party (ANP) on Friday once again rejected the election results and demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged poll rigging.

ANP held a large protest rally against the ‘polls management’ in Charsadda which was attended by thousands of party workers. The party also announced a protest demo outside the provincial assembly on the occasion of its inaugural session.

Addressing the rally ANP’s Central General Secretary, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said that some elements wanted to get the desired results in Punjab and when they failed, they made Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) the scapegoat.

“In pursuit of desired outcomes in K-P, ANP was marginalized,” he stated, highlighting unprecedented levels of election rigging. “Our ideology, rooted in non-violence, remains incompatible with such forces,” he continued, emphasizing his party’s commitment to parliamentary supremacy and the rule of law.

Protests against electoral rigging are underway across all four provinces today, as a selected group has been imposed on the country under the guise of general elections,” he remarked.

“Let me make it clear: nobody trusts the Election Commission of Pakistan anymore because of these failed elections,” he asserted, noting that ANP was among the parties that had lost faith in the ECP.

Addressing the rally, ANP Provincial President Aimal Wali Khan urged the Chief Justice to intervene and establish a judicial commission to investigate these irregularities and allegations of rigging.

“We will take legal action alongside those who were coerced into paying for desired outcomes,” he declared, denouncing the notion that the establishment could dictate the nation’s future.

“According to the constitution, they are our guardians, not rulers, and they must cease meddling in politics and democracy, focusing instead on protecting the country’s borders,” he remarked.

“We are grateful that we stand apart from the establishment, and those who sought to keep us out of parliament inadvertently propelled us back to our original roots,” he remarked. “For the past century, ANP’s political approach has evolved, yet its fundamental questions remain unchanged,” he noted.

“History bears witness to the denial of ANP’s rights since its inception, despite Bacha Khan’s efforts that compelled the British government to grant Pakhtuns the right to vote,” he added. “Within a week of Pakistan’s creation, the tragic Babra massacre in Charsadda claimed the lives of 600 innocent and unarmed Pakhtuns,” he lamented.

When the first true general elections were held in Pakistan, East Pakistan broke off because of the stolen mandate, he maintained, adding that in order to ensure the supremacy of a big province, a bloodbath took place in Bengal.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2024.