PESHAWAR: ‘MMA following ANP policy for renaming NWFP’
By Our Correspondent
PESHAWAR, Oct 13: Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti, central leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) has claimed that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) leadership is following ANP’s policy on renaming the NWFP province.
“ANP is the only party, which passed resolution in the provincial assembly, demanding a new name for the province, and we are struggling for the rights of Pukhtoons and for renaming the province and net hydel project,” Mr Hoti told journalists on Friday.
He said that credit for the decision about hydel-net profit does not go to the MMA as the ANP had also tried for the hydel-net profit, which was the right of the province. However, Gen Pervez Musharraf gave a political bonus to the MMA for the next general elections.
He said that the MMA was supporting President Musharraf, and this was the reason that they were not waging a struggle against him.
Mr Hoti said that the MMA should wait for the implementation of the decision before claiming the credit.
He said that the ANP in the past has struggled for renaming the North-West Frontier Province, and the party had passed resolutions in the assembly, and now the MMA leadership was following the policy of our party.
Mr Hoti denied President Musharraf’s remarks about the Taliban in which he had said that the Taliban were fighting in Afghanistan. He said: “There are no Taliban combating; they are Afghans who are fighting for their freedom.”
He said that only Pukhtoons were being killed in Waziristan, and these issues could be solved by table talk, not by military operations.
He asked for the peace deal with these elements.
“The two major parties Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP-P) after signing the Charter of Democracy (CoD) for restoring democracy and preventing the military dictatorship in future has lost their trust,” Hoti said, adding that these parties were now going opposite to each other.
Answering a query about the next general election, Hoti rejected the claims of the MMA and the PPP-P. He said that these parties would not get more seats in the election.
He said: “ANP will launch a drive after Eid-ul-Fitr for the unity of nationalist parties on one platform.”
Hoti said that on the one hand the MMA has called for the joint opposition but on the other the leadership of the MMA is supporting Musharraf’s dictatorship.
“The decision of arbitration committee for the hydel-net profit is a political bribe for the MMA, and now the people will see what will happen in politics,” Hoti said, adding that the MMA would neither launch a drive against Musharraf nor would they form the joint opposition against Musharraf.
