PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) on Monday withdrew its decision to march on Islamabad on Wednesday (Nov 11) after a jirga comprising federal ministers visited Bacha Khan Markaz to tender an apology over remarks by the interior minister that ANP workers were killed by militants in reaction to their stance on militancy.

Federal Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak, Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Shah and provincial ministers went to the ANP’s central secretariat to apologise for Mr Shah’s remarks.

ANP’s central secretary general Mian Iftikhar Hussain, provincial president Aimal Wali Khan and other leaders were present on the occasion.

“We apologise for the remarks which might have hurt feelings of the ANP leaders and workers,” said Defence Minister Khattak while talking to the media after meeting the ANP leadership. He said the ANP leaders accepted “our apology and withdrew their call to march on Islamabad”.

‘We apologise for the remarks which might have hurt feelings of ANP leaders and workers,’ says Pervez Khattak

“We respect the goodwill gesture of the ANP,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Ijaz Shah once again said that he was quoted out of context by the media regarding his remarks about militancy and the ANP. “The ANP leadership accepted our jirga and we are thankful to them,” he added.

When asked about the scheduled rally of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Peshawar on Nov 22, the interior minister said that all political parties should take a decision on their own if holding a public rally in view of the rising cases of coronavirus was right.

The jirga was constituted on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan who reportedly also expressed his displeasure over the remarks attributed to the interior minister.

He asked Pervez Khattak to visit Bacha Khan Markaz immediately and pacify the ANP leadership.

The ANP had announced the protest plan following the remarks of the interior minister against the party’s martyred leaders and workers. The media reports had caused serious unrest among ANP leaders and the party had asked the interior minister to tender resignation, otherwise its workers would march on Islamabad to force him to resign.

According to ANP leaders, the interior minister recently claimed that the party’s leaders and workers had been killed as a reaction to their opposition to the Taliban.

ANP’s provincial president Aimal Wali Khan told the media that his party accepted the jirga as per Pakhtun traditions and forgave the interior minister for his remarks against the party’s martyrs.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2020