PESHAWAR: Awami National Party has criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan for describing Pakhtuns sympathisers of Taliban in his speech at UN General Assembly.

ANP central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain in a statement here on Monday said prime minister twisted the history by saying that Pakhtuns were sympathiser of Taliban.

“We are Pakhtuns and have never been sympathisers of terrorists and Taliban,” he said and added that connecting Pakhtuns with such people was tantamount to distorting their history. He said history was witness to Pakhtuns’ sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

Mr Hussain said that about 80,000 people lost their lives in the war against terrorism and most of them were Pakhtuns including 144 students of Army Public School Peshawar. He said that terrorists had not only killed the people mercilessly but also destroyed worship places, historical buildings, hujras and bazaars.

The ANP leader said that the war was imposed on Pakhtuns, who suffered the most during the past 40 years. He said that nationalist Pakhtuns also signed agreements with the terrorists in Malakand division but terrorists violated the agreements and the entire area was cleared of them.

In reaction to the operation against terrorists, Mr Hussain said, his only son was also martyred. He asked Imran Khan to avoid distorting historical facts and hurting emotions of Pakhtuns.

He said that several groups including Uzbek, Tajik, Chechen and Arab nationals were also playing active role in the ranks of Taliban and Pakhtuns should not be connected with them.

He said that ANP from the day one had opposed terrorism and as result faced the consequences.

He said that Taliban killed ANP workers and leaders in targeted attacks from Khyber to Quetta.

He said that his party believed in the non-violence philosophy of Bacha Khan and would continue to condemn terrorism in all forms.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2021