For the record: You reap what you sow, says Asfandyar Wali

ANP rubbishes allegations of involvement in protest during Imran Khan’s visit to APS.

MARDAN: Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan said his party’s involvement in the protest against Imran Khan a day earlier is “unthinkable”.

Talking to the media in Mardan on Thursday, Asfandyar said Imran Khan’s own course of action has come back to haunt him. “Instead of burying heads in the sand they should ponder over their own actions,” he said.

Asfandyar said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief protested over spilled milk for three months and could not withstand a single hour of protest led by bereaved families. He accused Khan of putting the onus of the attack on the military and protecting his own incompetent government.



While mentioning Imran Khan’s speeches during the Azadi march, Asfandyar said Khan used indecent language on national television against every opponent and did not shun the practice even during his visit to Army Public School.

Asfandyar maintained the PTI chief had violated Pukhtun traditions. “Had we instigated the protest, our leaders would have led it,” he said. “No one can imagine using the blood of innocent children for political point scoring,” he added.

The ANP chief said the minutes of meetings held over the 21st Amendment were shared with all parliamentary parties and approved once they agreed upon them. However, religious parties began to fuss over it once consensus was reached.

Asfandyar said ANP was against the amendment till the last minute but had to swallow the bitter pill in order to provide the army constitutional cover in the war against terror. He said the war is being fought for the country’s survival and that all parties should set differences aside and work for the cause.

Asfandyar said had the governments in the past paid heed to the concerns of ANP elders, the situation would have never deteriorated. “Pakistan and Afghanistan are establishing cordial relations and fighting terror is in the mutual interest of the neighbours.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2015.