Marching on: ‘Not fueled by hatred but a passion for democracy’

ANP chief Asfandyar Wali rejects notion of a third force sparking violence in Islamabad

CHARSADDA:

Unlike the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which seems to be fueled by a hatred for Nawaz Sharif, the Awami National Party (ANP) supports democracy and democratic institutions, said ANP President Asfandyar Wali.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday in Wali Bagh, Charsadda, Asfandyar took a jibe at the PTI by saying the very people who spoke of democracy are the ones who attacked the Parliament. The ANP had already expressed its support for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led government in the recent political crisis in order to bolster democracy.

The ANP president initially summoned a party meeting on Tuesday to discuss the turmoil in the federal capital, but it was delayed.

Unseen forces?

Speaking to reporters, he rejected the notion that a third force sparked the violence in Islamabad. He said instead of helping displaced people or the Peshawar rain victims, K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak decided to join a dance party in Islamabad.

Asfandyar clarified the ANP was not supporting Nawaz, but the state of Pakistan, which is based on parliamentary democracy. He highlighted while PTI wanted the federal government to act in a democratic manner, the party’s own behaviour left much to be desired.

He slammed the Imran Khan-led party for demanding the resignation of an elected prime minister. PTI MPAs were willing to resign from the Sindh and Punjab assemblies, but legislators in K-P have remained silent over their resignations, said the ANP president.

Asfandyar said there was rigging in the 2013 general elections, but most of it was in K-P, which is ruled by the PTI. “People are well aware that Hakimullah Mehsud was the chief election commissioner in the province and not Fakhruddin G Ebrahim,” he asserted. “The ANP was defeated by a well chalked out plan.”

However, Asfandyar said his party accepted the result in the greater interest of the nation.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2014.