10 April 2004	Saturday	19 Safar 1425

QUETTA, April 9: Senator and Awami National Party's central president Asfandyar Wali Khan alleged on Friday that the government was behind what he termed a hide-and-seek game with of Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists in South Waziristan , that caused immense suffering to innocent Pukhtuns in the region.

Speaking at public meetings in Pishin, Muslim Bagh and Qila Saifullah, the Pukhtun nationalist leader claimed that the establishment knew where wanted terrorists were hiding in the tribal belt, but was reluctant to apprehend them.

The ANP leader said Pukhtuns would have very bright future if they took benefit from existing global situation, and stated that Pukhtuns would achieve their objectives for which Khudaee Khidmatgar Movement leaders had rendered great sacrifices.

Asfandyar Wali declared that Al Qaeda and the Taliban were not the product of the Pukhtun society and maintained that terrorists from Morocco to Indonesia were brought in the name of jihad in Afghanistan, but they were safely shifted to tribal areas after the American action in Kabul.

He asserted that party leadership had already described the fighting in Afghanistan as a mischief and not jihad, but some states had termed fighters holy warriors.

He was of the view that Pakistan's peace and progress depended upon stability in Afghanistan, adding that trouble in Kabul would have repercussion for Islamabad, therefore the rulers must act wisely to avoid uncertainty within the country.

Lashing out at the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, the Pukhtun nationalist leader blamed the religious alliance for facilitating imposition of the one-unit system again by backing the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.