02 March 2004	Tuesday	10 Muharram 1425

KARACHI, March 1: The Awami National Party has urged the Pakhtoons to unite on the party platform to get their rights and secure their interests.

ANP Central Joint Secretary Amin Khattak, speaking to the workers at the party office on Sunday, said that the party was striving for the restoration of democracy, supremacy of the Constitution, rights of the smaller provinces and provincial autonomy, while the rulers, by pursuing anti-federation projects, were pushing the country towards anarchy.

He said the rulers had plunged the country into crises and that their policies had resulted in price hike, unemployment and corruption, making the life of the common man miserable.

ANP Sindh President Shahi Syed, speaking to the gathering, said that Pakhtoons could play their role for a prosperous future only after getting control over their resources.

He urged them to forget personal differences and unite under the party flag, which was a symbol of ideology of non-violence as preached by Bacha Khan for a better future.

Terming the operation in the tribal areas uncalled for, he said that the Pakhtoons had no link with Al Qaeda and Taliban, nor they were their supporters, and that the ongoing operation was a calculated conspiracy against the Pakhtoons.