KARACHI, July 24: Asfandyar Wali Khan, chief of the Awami National Party (ANP), has said that it is the clash of egos that is preventing settlement of disputes and causing political instability in the country.

“If both the rulers and the opposition give up their own notions of self-prestige, they can resolve all the political issues across the table on the basis of give and take,” he opined.

The ANP chief was addressing a public meeting during his ongoing week-long visit to Karachi. He also inaugurated Bacha Khan Centre and met members of the Karachi Bar during the visit.

Various political figures, including Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Aitezaz Ahsan, Syed Jalal Haider Shah and Mairaj Muhammad Khan, also met the ANP leader at a reception hosted by the party’s Sindh chief, Shahi Syed.

Responding to newsmen’s queries at the reception, Asfandyar Wali Khan clarified that though his party was in opposition, it was not part of the combined opposition. “The ANP does not consider the LFO a part of the Constitution. If Gen Musharraf wants to amend the 1973 Constitution, he must follow the procedure laid down in the Constitution for the purpose,” he said. However, he made it clear that an amendment could be made only by an elected parliament and not by any an individual.

On the President’s uniform issue, Mr Khan questioned: “Is there any provision in the Constitution for such an arrangement?”

Responding to other questions, he expressed the view that unless the sense of deprivation prevailing among the smaller provinces was removed, the country could not be put on the road to progress and prosperity.

About Afghanistan, Mr Khan said that the game being played there was dangerous. He warned that any attempt to divide Afghanistan on the basis of language would lead to a disaster and could even change the geography of that country.