PESHAWAR, Jan 26: Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Thursday asked the homegrown Taliban to renounce violence in the ‘country’s larger interest’ but warned that nobody would be allowed to challenge the state’s writ.

“I am ready to sacrifice even my life if that is required for peace in the region but no one or group will be allowed to disrupt peace. Being the followers of Bacha Khan, we want peace and brotherhood. Peace is our manifesto and therefore, we appeal to Taliban to shun violence in the larger interest of the nation and accept government’s writ,” he told a public meeting organised at Shah Tehmas Football Stadium to mark death anniversaries of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Abdul Wali Khan.

Bacha Khan died on Jan 20, 1988 and was buried in Afghan city of Jalalabad in line with his will, while his son Khan Abdul Wali Khan died January 26, 2006 and is buried in Wali Bagh, Charsadda district.

The public meeting is considered part of the ongoing ANP campaign to prepare itself for the next general elections.

The ANP leader had been avoiding addressing public meetings since October 2008 when he survived an attempt on his life by a suicide bomber in his native Charsadda town.

Wearing red caps and carrying banners and party flags, ANP workers showed up in large numbers and kept shouting slogans during the function. Mr Asfandyar said ANP was harbinger of peace and truly believed in philosophy of non-violence and therefore asked militants to surrender and negotiate.

He said the federal government would soon name the Peshawar International Airport after Bacha Khan as a mark of respect to the great freedom fighter of the subcontinent.

“We will never support any act against the Constitution as we have opted for rule of law. The government will complete its tenure,” he said.

The ANP chief said his party had fulfilled almost all its election promises and that the renaming of the province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, grant of autonomy to the province and end to Kalabagh Dam construction was great achievements. He said parliament was the supreme institution as it represented the people of the country and that ANP wanted all national institutions to function within their jurisdictions and avoid encroachment on one another’s legal right as unconstitutional steps could destabilise the country.

Mr Asfandyar said parliament was the foundation for all institutions and that it was not mentioned in the Constitution that no institution would interfere in others’ affairs.

He said Bacha Khan wanted to see Pakhtuns educated for which he struggled relentlessly during his eventful political career in which he focused on awakening Pakhtuns worldwide. He said he was overwhelmed by the people’s participation in the public meeting and it showed their confidence in the ANP government.

The ANP chief said the government had executed several employment programmes for youth and women and would continue with its policy of developing the province.

He warned Afghan and Pakistani Taliban against using their soil for terrorism and asked them to hold talks with their governments instead of killing innocent people.

Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and ANP provincial chief Afrasiab Khattak also spoke on the occasion.