20 June 2004	Sunday	01 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

QUETTA, June 19: ANP leader Naseem Wali Khan has said that a stable, liberal and democratic government that recognizes the rights of smaller nationalities on its resources in their respective provinces can rid the country of present impasse.

Speaking at "Hal-o-Ahwaal" programme held at press club on Saturday the Pukhtun leader said that her party did not support Ponam's demand of election for constituent assembly.

She said that rulers should follow the principles of democracy and federal parliamentary system to strengthen the political institutions.

Ms Khan said that denial of equal rights to federating units to control their resources besides the wrong foreign policy of the government was the root cause of the present imbroglio and had created disharmony and misunderstanding between Punjab and other provinces.

About cooperation with the ARD, she said that if the PPP and the PML-N could assure the ANP that after coming into power they would give autonomy to the provinces then her party would not hesitate to join the alliance.

About government's insistence of building Kalabagh dam she said that under no circumstances they would allow construction of the dam.

Ms Khan said that if Balochs were against the Gwadar mega project and opposing construction of cantonments then the government should accept their demand.

Replying to a question, she said that her party had condemned the operation in South Waziristan, but supported the registration of foreigners in the tribal areas else they should leave to bring peace to the region.

The ANP leader said that her husband had received a summon from Punjab High Court's Multan bench in an application pleading to punish Wali Khan, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Mumtaz Bhutto, Majid Kanjo for they call themselves Pukhtun, Baloch, Sindhi and Seraiki.

She claimed that the applicant belonged to Punjab and its history ends with Ranjit Singh, whereas Pukhtuns have a long history of five thousand years. "A person who has no history asks us to abandon our Pukhtun entity," she added.