PESHAWAR, May 7: The Awami National Party has asked people to come out of their homes and cast their ballots in favour of its candidates on May 11 to defeat the militants who wanted to prevent electorates from polling votes. A meeting of ANP chapter of PK-12, Nowshera, held under Mian Iftikhar Hussain at Bacha Khan Markaz on Tuesday decided to motivate and bring people to polling stations to thwart the attempts by enemies. The people shouldn’t feel scared of the enemies and must come to vote for the ANP candidates in all the constituencies, said Mr Hussain.

He said that by stamping on lantern, the party’s election symbol, people would strengthen the ANP’s resolve to pursue peace and foil all conspiracies through armed campaigns by militants. Mr Hussain, a former KP information minister, read out a message sent by widow of Sadiq Zaman Khattak.

Mr Khattak, an ANP’s candidate for NA-254 Karachi, was killed by militants on May 3, and buried in Nowshera.

In her message, she said that it was the best homage to her late husband and minor son to give votes to the ANP’s candidate, Mr Hussain quoted the widow as telling the party. The terrorists, he said, would face defeat on the Election Day as people would turn up at the polling stations in large number to support the party. Despite increasing attacks and assassination of its workers, the party was determined to establish peace by making more strenuous efforts, if voted to power, he said.

Meanwhile, former MPA Shagufta Malik who is in-charge of the campaign for ANP’s central president Asfandyar Wali Khan for NA-7 in his native Charsadda, told women meetings on Tuesday that it was in the benefit of the people to elect her party’s candidates to continue their development work.

Accompanied by former lawmaker Yasmeen Pir Mohammad Khan, she told the women gatherings at Sra Dheri, Quaidabad, Garhi Hameed Gul and Sheikho Dheri that the efforts made by the party during its past five-year government had no parallel in the past 60 years. “We have lost 750 workers and leaders to militants, but there is no looking back and the party is still committed to wiping out militancy and enabling the people to live without fear,” she said.