SWABI: Awami National Party leader and former chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has expressed the hope that the talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in Doha, Qatar, would culminate in a deal to restore peace in the war-hit Afghanistan.

He was talking to mediapersons at the residence of Sher Ali in Naro Kallay where he offered his condolences over the death of his cousin Sadeed Ali in a road accident.

Party’s district president Amanullah and other leaders were present on the occasion.

“We want a negotiated settlement of the Afghan problem. If talks succeeded there would be peace in Afghanistan,” he said. He said that America’s main objective was to manage forces withdrawal from Afghanistan, but for the Afghan people the end of internecine war and withdrawal both were extremely important.

Mr Hoti said that peace was a prerequisite for the economic progress and prosperity in the region.

He said that keeping in view the sufferings of Afghan people and impact of war on the neighbouring counties there was an extreme need that Afghan leaders displayed shrewdness and work with complete determination for restoration of peace.

Hoti slams govt for delaying LB polls

Answering a question, the ANP leader said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government did not want to hold local government elections and it was clear from its delaying tactics.

“The local government elections should have been held by now, but the ruling party is intentionally delaying them,” he said. He added that the provincial government wanted to keep the financial resources in its control.

Mr Hoti said that rising prices of commodities, electricity and gas and sugar scandal all pointed to bad governance in the country.

WORKSHOP: The Women University Swabi conducted a training workshop for the faculty members on online teaching methodology.

Speaking on the occasion, vice-chancellor Prof Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi said online learning was the future of academia and no institution could sustain its academic ranking without developing expertise in online learning mechanism.

“There is a dire need for organising training sessions on online teaching and learning for the faculty and students,” Dr Kazmi said.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2020