April 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1429

PESHAWAR, April 21: The NWFP chapter of the Awami National Party (ANP) has endorsed party’s strategy to adopt the path of dialogue with the Taliban and other militants to establish peace in the Frontier province.Members of the provincial setup of the party, district presidents and general secretaries met under ANP provincial president Afrasiab Khattak at the Bacha Khan Markaz here on Monday to discuss party’s organisational matters and strategies. The participants fully endorsed the efforts and measures initiated by the party to restore peace in the troubled districts of the NWFP and the Fata.

They said that it was a good omen for the people of the province that the process of dialogue with militants had been started by the ANP-led coalition government in the NWFP and said that such efforts would ultimately bear fruits. Pakhtuns, they said, were traditionally in the habit of seeking resolutions to crises through dialogue and jirgas.

Afrasiab Khattak on the occasion said that the ANP was following the non-violence philosophy of party founder Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. This was the only method to replace violence by peace so that people start living and carrying out their activities fearlessly.

He said the party was taking measures to solve longstanding problems faced by the people of the province and claimed that the day was near when the people would feel a ‘welcome change’. He also urged the need to organise the party at grassroots level and asked ANP workers to remain in contact with the electorates in their respective areas and solve their problems on priority basis.

The local chapters of the party acted as the backbone and without their effectiveness, the party stood nowhere, he said, adding that provincial party leaders would soon start visiting various districts to organise the party. He also directed the participants to chalk out programmes under which district level meetings could be held to involve party workers in organisational matters.

Mr Khattak said workers were the asset of the party and they could not be sidelined. He asked the local party leaders and workers to make efforts with honesty and devotion to resolve the problems being faced by people in their respective areas. The party workers had also the responsibility to spread the message of non-violence and discourage militancy, he added.