PESHAWAR, May 18: Begum Nasim Wali Khan has quit the Bacha Khan Trust, of which she was the chairperson. “I don’t want to be held responsible for Bacha Khan Trust’s failure to fulfil its objectives. It could not start its work even one year after its establishment because of its secretary’s involvement in politics,” said Begum Wali, who had been removed as chief of the NWFP chapter of the Awami National Party on March 16 as a result of a tiff with her son, Asfandyar Wali Khan, who is also the chief of the ANP.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, Begum Wali said that the trust had been registered with the provincial government on May 19, 2004 with herself as its chairperson, Asfandyar Wali as vice-chairperson and Mir Ghazan Hoti as secretary.

She said the trust’s secretary, Mir Ghazan Hoti, did not convene any meeting of the board of trustees since the trust came into being.

Begum Nasim Wali Khan said the trust did not even appoint a director during the last one year.

The Bacha Khan Trust was supposed to carry out welfare activities in Azad Kashmir and Afghanistan and the Frontier province.

“I must admit that the trust has not been able to fulfil its objectives during the last one year,” said Nasim Wali.

“Although it was decided that the trust would be a non-political entity and that it would be kept away from the ANP, its secretary’s lack of interest in the affairs of the trust has undermined the cause of the trust.”

She said that the secretary never contacted her to discuss affairs of the trust nor responded to her calls for convening a meeting nor consulted her at the time of recruiting staff or purchasing a vehicle for the trust.

“We could not even open a bank account or hold a meeting in the last one year. How can we serve the purpose for which the trust was set up?” asked Nasim Wali. She said she would consult lawyers for dissolving the trust.

Nasim Wali also appealed to the people not to donate to the trust in cash or in kind unless it fulfilled the purpose of its establishment.

She, however, denied the trust had received huge funding from India and Afghanistan.