PESHAWAR, Nov 16: The Awami National Party on Thursday expressed concern over the firing and teargasing of the party’s procession while it was going to Bajaur on Wednesday and called for a judicial probe into the incident.

In a statement issued here, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan condemned the incident and said that while some MMA leaders were being allowed to hold public meetings and take part in other activities in the Bajaur Agency, the ANP’s procession, which was just to pay condolences to the families of the October 30 bombing victims, was fired at.

This had exposed the duplicitous policy pursued by the federal government and warned that preventing ANP’s peace efforts amounted to encouraging violence and lawlessness, the repercussion of which would be disastrous.

Senator Asfandyar said that the government’s move to ban peaceful activities of the political forces in tribal areas was aimed at encouraging militancy, violence and lawlessness. He declared that the ANP would not bow down to such tactics used by the government and would continue to support political activities in troubled tribal units.

Meanwhile, party’s provincial president Bashir Ahmad Bilour said that massive public participation in the ANP rally was a clear indication that people were against terrorism, violence and militancy.