May 26, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 09, 1428

Quetta, May 25: Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan said on Friday that formation of a national government for the purpose of holding general elections was the only way to get the nation out of the present crisis.

Addressing a public meeting, the ANP chief said transparent elections could be held only under an independent election commission and a national consensus government.

Criticising President Gen Pervez Musharraf, he said that wrong policies of the army ruler had plunged the nation into political and constitutional crises.

He criticised the speech of President Musharraf at the PML-Q rally in Islamabad on May 12, saying the president did not speak like the head of state, but like a leader of the MQM.

Referring to the May 12 incidents in Karachi, he said the Sindh government was responsible for the bloodshed. He alleged that the federal and Sindh governments and the MQM had planned to punish the workers of the opposition parties for supporting the chief justice.

Referring to the killings of Pakhtuns in terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Waziristan, Bajuar, Peshawar, Quetta and Charsadda, he said the Pakhtuns were passing through a critical phase of their history.

The ANP chief invited Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai to join hands for a collective struggle for the rights of Pakhtuns.

He said there would be no stability in Pakistan without stability in Afghanistan.

The meeting adopted several resolutions that demanded an end to military operations in Balochistan and Waziristan, arrest of Karachi killings’ responsible, and end to interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.

The meeting also condemned the Balochistan government for not taking appropriate steps to curb lawlessness in the province.

Dr Inyatullah Khan, Sardar Jailani Khan Achakzai, Azizullah advocate, Abdul Malik Panezai, Asghar Khan Achakzai and Daud Khan Piralizai also spoken on the occasion.