CHARSADDA: Awami National Party central senior vice-president Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and provincial chief Aimal Wali Khan have claimed that ANP has made full preparations to contest the local bodies’ elections in all the constituencies across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a view to winning the polls with an overwhelming majority.

Addressing a party workers’ convention in PK-57 constituency here on Friday, they claimed that Pakhtun nation was fed up with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government, and was ready to vote for ANP candidates in the coming elections.

They insisted the people had now realised that ANP was the only political party to protect their rights.

Coming down hard on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks about Pakhtuns, Mr Hoti said Pakhtuns were not terrorists. He said Imran Khan was portraying Pakhtruns as terrorists before the world despite the fact that they had voted his party to power for second consecutive term in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The former chief minister alleged that the prime minister was bent upon linking the whole Pakhtun nation with a handful of terrorists. He said ANP leaders and workers, including Bashir Bilour, Haroon Bilour, Main Rashid Hussian and hundreds of others, had rendered sacrifices to stop militants’ surge on the Pakhtuns’ soil.

Mr Hoti alleged that the present rulers had made mockery of the rule of law and destroyed institutions due to their incompetency.

Mr Hoti and Aimal Wali said inflation, poverty, unemployment, electricity and gas loadshedding had made lives miserable for poor people.

They said Imran Khan and his clique had mortgaged the country and all decisions were being dictated by the IMF.

Aimal Wali said the country had bankrupted due to failed policies of the incompetent government. He said PTI came into power through hallow slogan of change. He said during LG polls and next general election not a single candidate could be able to win polls for PTI.

He demanded NAB investigation into alleged corruption in the billion tree tsunami, Malam Jaba projects and petrol, sugar and wheat scandals.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2021