KOHAT, Jan 23: The Awami National Party on Wednesday observed 25th death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan known as Bacha Khan and 7th death anniversary of Khan Abdul Wali Khan at the district council hall here on Wednesday.

The function was attended by ANP’s provincial joint secretary Pervez Khattak, district president Syed Saeed Shah Bokhari, his wife MNA Khursheed Begum, MPA Musarat Shafi, MNA Pir Dilwar Shah, former district president Inayat Qureshi, MPA Lakki Marwat Yasmeen Zia. Members of minorities, doctors, teachers and lawyers of ANP also attended the function.

The speakers shed light on the life of both the leaders and vowed to continue their mission of peace and love. They said that the nation should learn a lesson from the plight of Afghan refugees and safeguard the ideological borders of their country. They claimed that the Pakhtun nation played a key role in the independence of Pakistan.

They claimed that the ANP was able to recover Rs38 billion from the central government as royalty on hydel power which had been spent on various development projects. They said soon the province would be rid of the curse of electricity loadshedding.

CHARSADDA: ANP leaders renewed their pledge to follow Bacha Khan’s philosophy of peace and continue efforts to unite Pakhtuns on one platform for protecting their interests.

They were speaking at a meeting of party workers held on the occasion of death anniversaries of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Abdul Wali Khan on Wednesday. ANP provincial chief Senator Afrasiab Khattak, Haroon Bilour, son of late Bashir Ahmed Bilour, provincial Law Minister Barrister Arshad Abdullah, party district chief Khalid Khan, general secretary Haji Qasim Ali Khan Muhammadzai and others also spoke on the occasion.

The leaders paid homage to Bacha Khan and Wali Khan for their meritorious struggle to serve the Pakhtun nation and raise voice for their rights. They said Bacha Khan was founding leader of Khudai Khidmatgar Tehrik and struggled for reformation of Pakhtuns. He believed in philosophy of non-violence despite atrocities against Pakhtun nation. He was a social reformer and wanted Pakhtuns to follow path of progress and development, they said.

Afrasiab Khattak said that party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan had been mandated to contact parties’ leaders for an all party conference to be held in Islamabad next month to devise a joint strategy to cope with terrorism.

TIMERGARA: Leaders of Awami National Party here on Wednesday paid tribute to late Bacha Khan and Khan Abdul Wali Khan, saying the two leaders had suffered hardships for espousing the cause of the nation, particularly Pakhtuns.

Addressing a party gathering organised by Lower Dir ANP to mark the 25th death anniversary of Bacha Khan and seventh of Wali Khan here at the district council hall, they said the late Bacha Khan was declared rebel by then rulers because he had opposed division of Muslims of the sub-continent.

Provincial minister Haji Hidayatullah, ANP central vice-president Zahir Shah Khan, provincial vice-president Mian Laiq Bacha, Lower Dir president Hussain Shah Yousafzai, general secretary Mohammad Ayub and others addressed the function attended by party workers.