September 27, 2002	Friday	Rajab 19, 1423

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SWABI, Sept 26: ANP leader Begum Nasim Wali Khan said on Thursday that without provincial autonomy the dream of a stable Pakistan could not come true.

Speaking at election rallies, the provincial ANP president said that since independence the party had been demanding provincial autonomy, but the rulers had created a sense of deprivation among the smaller provinces instead.

She said Balochistan received its share from revenue earned through Sui gas, and Punjab and Sindh got such benefits on cotton, rice and wheat crops, but the NWFP remained deprived of its share and royalty of the electricity production and tobacco yield.

She demanded that the federating units should be given their due share according to the agreed formula.

ADVICE: The ANP leader said that Oct 10 election would be a contest between various nationalities.

In a press release issued in Peshawar, she advised the Pakhtoons to reject the MMA candidates who, she alleged, were conspiring against Pakhtoons at the behest of Punjabis.

Castigating the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leaders for their statement that the elections would be a contest between the Islamic and the anti-Islam forces, the provincial ANP chief alleged that the MMA was a group of army agents who wanted to advance the interests of Punjab.

She urged the Pakhtoons to follow in the footsteps of the late Bacha Khan and foil the evil designs of the so-called champions of Islam.