CHARSADDA: Asfandyar Wali Khan, who was re-elected president of the Awami National Party (ANP) for the third term on Sunday, has advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take a vote of confidence from the National Assembly.

Mr Khan, who was elected at a meeting attended by 573 members of the party’s general council in Wali Bagh, said PTI chief Imran Khan and PAT leader Tahirul Qadri would be responsible if any harm came to democracy.

“The ANP will not support any campaign to derail democracy and will resist any move to that end. There’s a way in the Constitution which should be followed,” he said.

He said the PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had not fulfilled its responsibility of helping the displaced people of Waziristan. Instead, it had engaged in “bhangra” in Islamabad.

According to the ANP chief, a tsunami always brought destruction and it is a violation of the Constitution to ask the prime minister to quit by holding rallies of 50,000 people.

Political forces should resolve all matters in parliament, he said. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s demand is illegal and cannot be considered in the parliamentary form of government.

He alleged that PTI’s ministers were involved in corruption and were entering into plea bargain deals with the National Accountability Bureau, but their party was levelling allegations against others.

He said the PTI chief’s demand about formation of a national or technocrat-led government was unwarranted. The country cannot afford adventurism and loss of democracy.

“We have accomplished dreams of Bacha Khan and Abdul Wali Khan by getting a name for the province and getting legal right over its resources.” The ANP leader said peace in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas was necessary to improve the situation in the region and put the brakes on terrorism.

He suggested an amendment to the Constitution to pave way for electing a vice-president from Fata and said efforts should be made to bring the people of the tribal areas into the national political mainstream so that they got the opportunities like other citizens.

Ghulam Ahmed Bilour was elected ANP’s senior vice-president, Mian Iftikhar Hussain general secretary, Tajuddin Khan deputy general secretary, Wajid Ali Khan additional general secretary, Zahid Khan information secretary and Shams Buneri culture secretary.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2014