PESHAWAR, July 29: Awami National Party senior vice-president Ghulam Ahmed Bilour has said that the Pukhtunkhwa National Democratic Alliance (PNDA) formed by the ANP and the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party would have a far-reaching impact on national and regional politics.

Talking to journalists here on Sunday, he said the two parties would jointly work for peace and stability in the Pukhtun areas, which were confronting different challenges.

He said unity among the Pukhtun nationalist forces was the need of the hour and coming together of the ANP and the PMAP on a platform was a defining moment in the political history of the country. “The alliance of the two mainstream Pukhtun nationalist parties at this critical juncture will boost their image among the workers, the masses and intellectuals,” he said.

He said both the parties were often criticised for their solo flights despite having common agenda and programmes.

Mr Bilour said the main issue behind the formation of the alliance was the prevailing crisis and bloodshed in the tribal areas and the NWFP, where Pukhtuns were the ultimate victims on either side.He expressed the hope that the alliance would work for restoring peace and stability in the region.

The Pukhtuns and their soil were once again being used for an alien war, he said.

He said people must understand why the Pukhtuns had been targeted over the past 30 years and identify the forces behind the bloodshed.

He said both the ANP and the PMAP were part of the All Parties’ Democratic Movement (APDM) and there would be no confusion regarding national politics and a movement against the Musharraf government. “We will definitely go with the democratic forces for the restoration of democracy and against the military regime,” he said in reply to a question .

He said a line had been drawn between the forces supporting and opposing Gen Musharraf forces after the conference of opposition parties in London and those who sided with the pro-Musharraf camp at this stage would certainly be the losers.

The ANP leader said that on one hand PPP workers were being killed in Karachi and Islamabad during anti-Musharraf rallies while on the other hand former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was striking a deal with the military ruler.

Ms Bhutto was going against the will of her party’s workers, he said.

About the Pakistan-Afghan peace jirga to be held next month in Kabul, he leader said people had attached great expectations to the event for bringing peace to the region. He said that the governments of the two countries should give importance to the real representatives of the people living on both sides of the border. He said failure of the jirga would be harmful both for the people and governments of the two countries.

“Even the Taliban and former Mujahideen leaders should be invited to the jirga,” he said.