Awami National Party: Where will the fork in the road lead?

Amid an on-going turf war, latest developments might result in serious consequences.

PESHAWAR: Begum Naseem Wali Khan has decided to make a return to the political spectrum after almost a decade-long hiatus.

Deferentially known as Mor Bibi among party workers, the timing of her renewed political ambitions are likely to unnerve the Awami National Party (ANP) when it is already under strain following a turf war between Azam Khan Hoti and party leader Asfandyar Wali Khan and his coterie of leaders.

Rather unexpectedly, Begum Naseem came out of political shadows, ready to take on the mantle of the party leadership. She has already sounded the war horn by saying there will be no room for corrupt people in her party.

The ANP, however, has time and again proved resilient in many preceding battles of family members over the years, always managing to come through unscathed.

Back in 2005, the ANP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) dissolved the provincial chapter of the party, along with expelling general secretary Farid Toofan, for a period of 10 years.

Begum Naseem had served as the party’s provincial president thrice, before the provincial chapter was dissolved, a decision she termed as a ‘charge-sheet’ against her.

Former party member Hashim Babar opines that rifts in ANP are not new and these fault lines between Begum Naseem and Asfandyar Wali Khan stretch back to when she used to dominate party affairs in Abdul Wali Khan’s lifetime.

Babar said Asfandyar had led a coup in the party, colluding with other party leaders against Begum Naseem, his step-mother. However, eight years later, things have come full circle for Begum Naseem and she has returned to settle scores with Asfandyar.

“Asfandyar is at his weakest following general elections; Naseem also intends to stage a coup, similar to the one in 2005 that ousted her,” argued Babar. Interestingly, ANP’s family politics are ridden with ironic undertones.

In 2005, Azam Khan Hoti, Naseem’s brother, ditched his sister in the struggle for control over the party and supported Asfandyar. Last month, Azam’s son Haider Hoti came out in support of Asfandyar Wali Khan against his father, when the father had launched a diatribe against the ANP chief. Party sources privy to developments, however, claim Naseem is yet to contact Azam about her return plans.

In 2000, ANP expelled its former president Ajmal Khattak after he met former military dictator Pervez Musharraf. Khattak went onto form his own political party by the name of National Awami Party of Pakistan (NAPP) before returning to the ANP fold.

The latest family squabble is set to shape political rivalry in the party just like its many predecessors in ANP’s history, especially at a time when Azam Hoti is already at war with Asfandyar Wali and Afrasyab Khattak. This, according to Hashim Babar, is not political in nature, rather essentially a dispute over the division of income.

Hashim Babar thinks times have changed now. “Asfandyar and Naseem have both disappointed workers and now the party is facing a leadership crisis,” he said. He said Khattak’s departure did not have much of an effect on the party’s affairs because people trusted the political acumen of Wali Bagh.

But the crucial question is what happens next? According to Babar, the present party leadership stands discredited and there is a good chance the party will split into two factions.

Only free and fair elections can help the party in overcoming the present predicament, he added. According to sources, the rifts will make a ‘Pakistan Muslim League’ out of ANP.

“There can be a situation where we can have two ANPs, both calling themselves original and the other provisional,” remarked Babar.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2013.