Zero tolerance: ANP vows to oppose Kalabagh’s construction
Claims people will take to the streets in protest if anyone tries to do so.
CHARSADDA:
Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Sunday said his party will never allow the construction of Kalabagh Dam, claiming people will take to the streets in protest if anyone tries to do so.
Addressing a ceremony in Uthmanzai, Charsadda to welcome FIA former director Zafrullah Khan and PPP Charsadda’s ex-President Naeem Umerzai into ANP’s fold, Asfandyar said Pakistan and Kalabagh Dam cannot go together. He responded to the statement of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi which the latter gave at a gathering in Bahawalpur. Elahi had said he would convince Asfandyar to agree upon the construction of the dam. However, Asfandyar countered by saying, “We cannot drown our children for Punjab.”
Lashing out at Imran Khan, Asfandyar said the PTI chief considers himself to be pious and all others corrupt, which is why he keeps battering the media, Parliament and judiciary in his speeches.
The ANP chief also addressed a tribal jirga in Islamabad on Saturday. He talked about the targeted killing of Pukhtuns in K-P and Fata, saying his party has started a public campaign to stop the bloodshed in the region. He stressed peace cannot be restored without the help of tribal elders.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2014.
Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Sunday said his party will never allow the construction of Kalabagh Dam, claiming people will take to the streets in protest if anyone tries to do so.
Addressing a ceremony in Uthmanzai, Charsadda to welcome FIA former director Zafrullah Khan and PPP Charsadda’s ex-President Naeem Umerzai into ANP’s fold, Asfandyar said Pakistan and Kalabagh Dam cannot go together. He responded to the statement of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi which the latter gave at a gathering in Bahawalpur. Elahi had said he would convince Asfandyar to agree upon the construction of the dam. However, Asfandyar countered by saying, “We cannot drown our children for Punjab.”
Lashing out at Imran Khan, Asfandyar said the PTI chief considers himself to be pious and all others corrupt, which is why he keeps battering the media, Parliament and judiciary in his speeches.
The ANP chief also addressed a tribal jirga in Islamabad on Saturday. He talked about the targeted killing of Pukhtuns in K-P and Fata, saying his party has started a public campaign to stop the bloodshed in the region. He stressed peace cannot be restored without the help of tribal elders.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2014.