PESHAWAR/CHARSADDA: The Awami National Party has claimed the people are disappointed by the provincial government’s bad governance and therefore, more and more supporters of the ruling PTI are joining it in the province, especially in Peshawar and Nowshera districts.

In a statement issued by the Bacha Khan Markaz here on Monday, ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain told a meeting in Nowshera cantonment that the people were dejected by the ruling PTI’s poor performance during the last three years.

“The PTI government has failed to keep its promises on public welfare and therefore, the people in the province are disappointed,” he said.

Mr. Hussain welcomed Salman Abdur Rehman and Waqas of the PTI, Zahid Hussain of the PPP and Lalzada Khan of the PML-N to the party after they announced the quitting of their respective parties along with family members and supporters. He offered them red caps as the party’s symbol as well as membership.

The ANP leader said the PTI was losing popularity in the districts, where it won the last elections, due to poor performance of its government in the province.

Party ropes in PTI, PPP, PML-N activists

He insisted the ruling PTI was claiming credit for the projects conceived and launched by the ANP’s government, including Basha dam and other hydropower projects.

Mr. Hussain claimed Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had miserably failed to plead the province’s case before the centre for due share in the development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.

He said that 2018 elections would prove that the ANP was the people’s true representative party. The ANP leader said it was a matter of concern that the federal government was using delaying tactics in holding the population census.

“The country’s resources will be divided among federating units on equitable basis in the country after the population census is held,” he said. Mr. Hussain said the population census would prove that KP has a large population. He called for the early holding of population census in the country for equitable distribution of resources to provinces.

Another ANP statement issued here said PPP leaders Kifayat Khan Orakzai of PK-4 Peshawar and Ishfaaq Khalil of PK-6 resigned from their party and joined the ANP.

The two met ANP central president Asfandyar Wali Khan in Charsadda and formally announced the joining of the party. They were given red caps.

Our Correspondent from Charsadda adds that the ANP ‘Think Tank’ on Monday discussed the issues relating to the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Fata and the holding of population census.

The discussion took place in a meeting here with ANP central president Asfandyar Wali Khan.

The participants said Afghan people should be included in the peace efforts meant for regional stability. They said Fata needed a good economic package for its development to come on a par with developed areas of the country. The participants also demanded that the federal government convene a multiparty conference on how to try terrorists.

Published in Dawn January 17th, 2017