NOWSHERA: Awami National Party has demanded of the federal government to create a congenial atmosphere for a joint operation by Pakistan and Afghanistan against terrorists.

Talking to journalists, ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that enemy of Pakistan and Afghanistan was same as both the countries were faced with the issue of terrorism.

They should start joint operation to eliminate terrorists from the region once for all, he added.

The ANP leader said that the elements, who ignited the fire of terrorism in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, should know that they would not remain safe from terrorism.

He demanded of the government to launch operation against the terrorists across the country including Punjab and review the foreign and internal policies keeping in view the new wave of terrorism in the country.

He said that the idea of ‘good and bad Taliban’ should be shunned if the authorities wanted to uproot terrorism.

The ANP leader urged the federal government to call another All-Party Conference on the ongoing terrorist activities to chalk out new strategies for National Action Plan.

Mr Hussain said that National Action Plan envisaged after Army Public School attack was consisted of 20 points but some of the points were not implemented.

He asked all political parties to ANP for joint action by Pakistan, Afghanistan against terrorists shun difference and forge unity against terrorism in the country.

The ANP leader said that provincial government should have provided security to Bacha Khan University Charsadda instead of just informing its administration regarding the threat of attack. He said that conspiracies were hatched against the educational institutions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to discourage educated people.

Mr Hussain said that government should facilitate the internally displaced people of Waziristan if it wanted to get their support against Taliban.

Meanwhile, ANP provincial president Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said that the massacre of Bacha Khan University students could have avoided if government had initiated judicial inquiry soon after Army Public School attack.

Talking to journalists here on Sunday, he said that provincial government failed to protect students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He termed the attack a failure of the provincial government.

Mr Hoti asked the government to initiate judicial inquiry into Bacha Khan University attack.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2016