PESHAWAR, Oct 6: The Awami National Party has sought assurances from the political and military leadership about their seriousness in the fight against terrorism.

According to ANP leaders, the outcome of meetings and discussions currently being held in Islamabad with the highest level of political and military leadership would determine the fate of the party’s role in government.

Mr Asfandyar Wali Khan, who narrowly survived a suicide bombing at his native Walibagh in Charsadda on Thursday, has met President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff Asfhaq Parvez Kayani to find out how the leadership intended to deal with domestic terrorism.

Party officials say that Mr Khan has held a series of meetings also with other key players to get a clear picture of what top military and intelligence strategists and political leaders plan to do to deal with the insurgency in the tribal belt and settled districts of the NWFP.

Senior leaders of the party are not hiding their misgivings about the seriousness with which the fight against terrorism originating from the tribal areas and its network in some districts is being conducted.

They want to know, for instance, whether the recent shake-up in the military leading to the replacement of the Director of Inter Services Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj, by former Director General Military Operations, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, will translate into any real change in the policy against militants.

The shake-up also saw the departure of the heads of ISI’s internal and external wings who have been superseded and denied promotion. The two officers, according to military sources, have been given “less intense” assignments.

“All that we want to know is whether these changes are for real or it’s just a change of faces,” an ANP leader said.

ANP’s seriousness on the issue could be gauged from a meeting held at the Frontier House in Peshawar on Sunday, attended by its MNAs, Senators and MPAs and the party’s think-tank.

Asfandyar Wali Khan, who is staying at the President’s House in Islamabad since his evacuation from Charsadda, could not attend the meeting, but Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti was there to brief the parliamentarians on the security situation.

The 15-member think-tank of the ANP met in Peshawar on Monday to firm up recommendations and forward them to the party leadership for a decision.

According to some ANP leaders, more such meetings may be held in the next few days. Mr Asfandyar Wali Khan is being kept fully informed about the deliberations.

“He has been informed about the thinking within the party and he has been meeting the country’s leadership to get a feel of the strategic direction of the country,” another ANP leader said.

The apparent sense of urgency in the ANP has come in the wake of the Walibagh suicide attack which targeted the party’s president but killed five people and wounded 18 others.

The incident has brought about a change in tone and tenor of the ANP leadership which, without saying much in public, is considering whether it served any purpose to cling on to power when peace remains elusive in ‘Pukhtunkhwa’.

Significantly, this apparent re-think has come when a joint sitting of the parliament has been convened on Wednesday for an in-camera session on the threat perception to help the legislators evolve a national consensus on the state of terrorism in the country.

Clearly, the ANP has become more aggressive in its approach towards militancy after its attempt to wean away the so-called reconcilable from the dead-enders failed in Swat.

It has given its full and unequivocal support to the military operation in Swat and has been urging tough action to deal with the insurgency once and for all.

Wary and suspicious, the ANP believes that time has come to end “double-speak” and call a spade a spade.

“The time has come to clarify our national policy. This double-game must end now. We are fighting for the survival of not only the Pakhtun nation but also of Pakistan,” the ANP leader said. “And the military has a key role to play in this,” he said.

Party leaders say they are clear in what they expect from the political and military leadership in terms of strategy and resources but the lack of any clear assurances from the top may force them to leave the government.

“Our people have given us the mandate to restore peace. What justification is for us to stay in power if we fail to give them a sense of security,”? asked the NWFP Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, when reached for comment.

“But let me tell you, we are not going to leave in haste. We will put up a fight against terrorism,” he said.

Military officials, however, describe the ANP’s misgivings as “very unfortunate”.

“Our men are dying in Swat and Bajaur. Operations are under way in Khyber and Darra Adamkhel and some action may take place elsewhere. Therefore, to say that there is some double-game is very unfortunate,” the official said.

“There is no question of any group or organisation being funded, trained or armed,” the official said.

Clearly, the military leadership is attaching a lot of importance to the October 8 in-camera session of parliament. “This is going to give us the direction. The main thrust of the briefing would be to make it clear to the legislators that the terrorism we are facing in Pakistan is different from the global war on terrorism,” the military official said.