PESHAWAR, April 2: The Awami National Party on Tuesday condemned the US attack on Iraq and asked the world powers to stop the American aggression as after the Middle East it would try to take control of central and south Asian resources.

Speaking at a public meeting organized at the Qissakhawani Bazaar here, the ANP’s central leaders took strong exception to the US invasion of Iraq and deplored Islamabad “for not taking a tough stand against Washington and abandoning the people of Iraq when they needed our help.”

“The PML-Q-led federal government could not even muster strength to condemn the US action, instead they preferred to deplore its criminal act against the people of Iraq,” ANP’s central leader Asfandyar Wali Khan said.

The ANP leaders demanded of the government to extend full support to the Iraqi regime.

Taking exception to the US move of declaring suicide bombing by an Iraqi citizen as an act of terrorism, Asfandyar Wali said Washington had turned a blind eye towards those Iraqi women and children who died in ruthless missile and air attacks by the invading forces.

Terming the US the “biggest terrorist of the world” the former ANP chief asked the government to stand by Iraqi people so that when Pakistan’s turn came the people of Iraq might find it their moral obligation to side with Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour criticized religious leaders and said at first they played an active role with the US in the disintegration of USSR and later supported Arabs to destroy Afghanistan. Had they not done this the balance of power would not have tilted in favour of US as had been the case at present, he added.

In her speech, Begum Nasim Wali said the US-led invasion was not a war between Muslims and infidels. Rather it was a war between the forces who believed in humanism and those favoured terrorism.

“This war could come to an end just in five days if the Arab countries stop oil supply to the US,” Begum Wali said, adding that the invading forces wanted to take over Arabs’ resources.

If the current US aggression was not halted, central and south Asia too would come under attack by the US forces in near future, she said and added that to avoid this thing to happen the world powers, including France, Russia and China, should come forward to stop the US.

It was the first anti-war and anti-US public meeting organized by the ANP at the end of which a procession was also brought out. Led by party’s central leaders, participants marched from the Qissakhawani Bazaar to the nearby Suekarno Square where they dispersed peacefully.

Several participants were holding placards inscribed with anti-US slogans and chanting slogans in favour of Iraq.

Apart from senator Asfandyar Wali Khan, ANP’s central leaders, including former speaker of the NWFP Assembly Hidayatullah Chamkani, Haji Mohammed Adeel, Bashir Ahmed Bilour, Farid Toofan and Mian Iftikhar Hussain also spoke on the occasion.