CHARSADDA/MINGORA: Awami National Party secretary general Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that though his party accepted the Supreme Court verdict in Panama Papers case, they felt that the ends of justice were not served in the case.

He was speaking at a gathering held here on Saturday to pay homage to the victims of Babara massacre which had occurred on Aug 12, 1948. Earlier, Mr Hussain and other ANP leaders laid floral wreaths on the monument in Babara village here.

Mr Hussain said that the people were thinking that the ends of justice were ignored in the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister in Panama Papers case. He, however, said that the ANP had accepted the SC verdict despite having serious reservations about it.

Iftikhar pays homage to victims of Babara massacre

He said that Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification was brought about by the curses which Pakhtuns piled on him for depriving them of their due share in the CPEC projects and delaying the merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He claimed that the PTI-led provincial government had failed to solve the people’s problems. He said that accountability should start from those in the government. The ANP leader said that the sacrifice of victims of Babara incident would always be remembered. He said that if ANP came to power it would reopen the Babara incident case to expose the hands behind the incident.

He said that the workers and leaders would follow the non-violence philosophy of Bacha Khan and would continue a peaceful movement to achieve their rights.

In Mingora, the Swat chapter of ANP on Saturday organised various activities to remember the victims of Babara.

In this regard, the youth of Pakhtun Students Federation organised Quran Khwani for the followers of Khudai Khidmatgar movement who were shot dead on the orders of Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, the then chief minister of NWFP, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ANP workers gathered in Mingora said that the then ruling forces killed ruthlessly the unarmed and peaceful protesters who were demonstrating against the promulgation of Public Safety Ordinance.

“The history of ANP is full of sacrifices for the rights of Pakhtuns,” said party activist Wajid Ali Khan. The participants said that ANP workers were ready to give sacrifices for the sake of their land.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2017