PESHAWAR: Awami National Party has condemned the murder of its central committee member Advocate Arbab Ghulam Kasi in Balochistan and demanded probe into the incident to arrest the people involved in his killing at the earliest.

ANP central president Asfandyar Wali Khan and senior vice president Ameer Haider Khan Hoti in their separate statements here on Wednesday said that Arbab Ghulam Kasi was a peace loving citizen and a responsible leader of the party. They said that the targeted killing of ANP lawyer wing provincial president was a continuation of the growing incidents of terrorism and extremism in the country.

Asfandyar Khan expressed his serious concerns over the murder of the senior member of the party and said that the growing incidents of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were not being taken seriously by the relevant authorities otherwise the situation would have never worsened to such an extent.

He said that the trend of targeting innocent political workers and office-bearers was reflecting the seriousness of the situation in the country. He stressed the need for thorough probe into the case and arrest of all the people involved in the murder of Arbab Ghulam Kasi as soon as possible.

Mr Khan asked the government to conduct a transparent inquiry into the murder of the ANP leader. Paying tributes to the deceased leader, he said that Arbab Ghulam Kasi was one of the founding members of ANP’s student wing Pakhtun Students Federation (PkSF).

He said that he also endured many hardships during his student life. He said that ANP would not back down from its stance on extremism and terrorism.

Ameer Haider Khan Hoti also condemned the murder of Arbab Ghulam Kasi and said that the deceased was a true follower of Bacha Khan and a selfless political activist.

He said that Arbab Ghulam Kasi was a valuable asset of ANP. He said that his murder was an irreparable loss for the party. He added that government should ensure a transparent and prompt investigation into the incident.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2023