SWABI: Awami National Party (ANP) provincial president Aimal Wali Khan on Tuesday called for the early announcement of the next general elections.

“All political parties eagerly await the announcement of the election date. We [ANP] hope that the Election Commission of Pakistan will do so soon,” Mr Aimal told a convention of party workers here.

The ANP leader said that if people voted his party to power in KP, it would provide free formal learning, including higher education, to people, Rs5,000 monthly stipend to girl students each, and research grant to young researchers.

He said that youth were the real builders and future of the country and therefore, the ANP government would strive for their development.

Aimal says girl students to get Rs5,000 monthly stipend

Mr Aimal said that transparent polls would enable the winning party to rule the country with “full confidence” and focus its attention on long-term policies.

He blamed the 2018 “unfair” general elections for the current political and economic crises and said that it won’t be easy to address them.

The ANP leader demanded an effective end to the exploitation of the province by the centre and the grant of its right to its resources.

He said that his party always fought for people’s rights, so its politics survived the oppression of military and civilian rulers.

Mr Aimal complained that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produced 6,000 megawatts of electricity but even then, it was denied smooth power supply and its residents were accused by the Wapda of stealing electricity.

He said that if the province got the right to the electricity it produced, then it would prosper.

The ANP leader said that a “dragon”had seized the province’s resources and was exploiting it.

He said that Swabi was like a second home to Bacha Khan and ANP leaders and workers from the district accompanied him whenever he went to jail.

Mr Aimal criticised former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser over “failure” to work for the district during his term as the MNA and insisted that the residents won’t vote for him in next elections.

KILLED: Gunmen killed a man over an old rivalry in Yar Hussain area of Chota Lahor tehsil here on Tuesday.

Police booked two brothers, Sultan Khan and Rehman Khan, for the murder of Shah Fahad, 26. They began an investigation. No arrest was made until night, however.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2023