PESHAWAR: Awami National Party central president Senator Aimal Wali Khan on Monday demanded of the government to address the volatile situation in Kurram tribal district and warned that if the government failed to address this issue, his party would take to the streets.

Addressing a function held at the Bacha Khan Markaz in connection with the upcoming death anniversaries of Pakhtun leaders Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Jan 20) and Abdul Wali Khan (Jan 26), the ANP chief said Kurram had no road connection with the rest of the country for the last three months.

“I wonder how a district can remain disconnected from the rest of the country in this modern century. The situation in Kurram is regrettable as residents even lack edibles, medicines and the right to life,” he said.

Mr Aimal said that the KP government was the most incompetent in history.

Complains district lacks edibles, medicines

He said that the state should seriously think about resolving the Kurram issue but the government was not even interested in taking corrective steps.

“Today if you say there are arms in Kurram, then we will ask who armed them in the first place,” he said.

The ANP leader said that he had considered sending a party jirga to Kurram but the idea couldn’t be executed due to the closure of roads.

Taking a dig at the PTI, he said that those who have been given the mandate of the people do not care about what was happening there. However, he said that the Kurram issue was not a new one as it was a very complex issue and was rearing its head from time to time. He said that the troubled areas of the Kurram were those which the United States wanted for its base and the Taliban had also had their eyes on them.

ANP chief said that his party had also stood for peace and held peace talks under the guard of the suicide bombers without flinching.

He said that the army chief, in his recent interaction in Peshawar, acknowledged that his institution made mistakes in the past.

Mr Aimal said he apprised the army chief of the reasons for his party’s opposition to the policies of General Ziaul Haq, General Mushrraf and General Bajwa.

He added that the army chief was also told that whether the powers-that-be propped up some group, eliminated them or held peace talks with them, all of them ultimately hurt Pakhtuns.

The ANP leader said that no matter who was in power, state policies regarding Pakhtuns remained the same.

“I wonder that for Pakhtuns, what is the difference between Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif as well as Shehbaz Sharif and General Bajwa?”

Mr Aimal said the ANP”s electoral mandate was stolen and awarded provincial assembly’s seats non-entities.

He said that ANP would never flinch from the fight for the rights of Pakhtuns and their resources.

Without naming anyone, he said that there were some pseudo-revolutionists who were cursing everyone.

“I have been saying it from day one that these people are opposing us,” he said, adding that while he opposed the Taliban and PTI, the same people cursed him.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2025