SWABI: The dissident group of Awami National Party, led by former district nazim Jehanzeb Khan, said on Sunday that any illegal step by the sitting district president, Rehmanullah, and other office-bearers would never be accepted.

The meeting held at Tarakai here was called for patch up between two rival groups of the party, but instead it turned into anti-Rehmanullah gathering. It was convened by Aman Khan whose group had lost to Mr Rehmanullah in the district president election recently.

According to the insiders, Swabi ANP is now divided into three groups: one supporting district president; his rival group led by Jehanzeb Khan; and the third group including leaders who were ignored by the district leaders.

The Sunday’s meeting was attended among others by former MPAs Shoaib Khan and Sikandar Irfan, Jehanzeb Khan, Arshad Khan advocate, district chairman of organising committee, Iqbal Khan, and Javid Khan. Besides, over 3,000 workers also attended the meeting, the sources claimed.

District president ignoring elected bodies, say workers

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Aman said that his group was defeated in the recent elections and they accepted it.

“Targeting of our supporters in the post-election period is not acceptable. This is undemocratic and unconstitutional. We oppose it,” he said.

Mr Aman warned that if the district president issued any show cause notice to the party leaders it would not be acceptable to them. “We will fight the expulsion of workers and leaders. This party belongs to workers. It is not the personnel property of any person, including Rehmanullah,” Mr Aman said.

Mr Jehanzeb said that in Maneri Payyan union council, Sher Bacha and other members of his group had won the election in the presence of Amil Wali Khan, but the losers there were asked to form the office-bearers body.

He said that in Swabi-Maneri union council Samar Khan and his colleagues had emerged victorious. The election was supervised by the provincial member of the organising committee, Sadarurddin. Here too, the losers were told to represent the party and the elected members were ignored. “This is against the party constitution and we oppose such victimisation,” he said.

Mr Arshad said that they were the followers of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan who always gave great respect and due weight to the party workers.

Mr Sikandar said that it was totally against the democratic norms to target all those who contested election against the district officer-bearers.

He questioned how these people called themselves democratic when they were victimising the democratic rivals. “The central and provincial leadership of the party should take an immediate notice of it,” he demanded.

Published in Dawn, September 15th , 2014