SWABI: Awami National Party leader Ameer Haider Hoti on Monday said that had all political parties showed maturity, the country would not have suffered from the current poor law and order situation.

Addressing a gathering of lawyers here, Mr Hoti said leaders of political parties should agree on the eradication of terrorism from the country and if they really showed maturity, it would lead to a victory against the menace.

“Our political leadership is so polarised that it has divided the entire nation. There is an urgent need to work on the common agenda of controlling the increasing incidents of terrorism in the country,” he said.

The ANP leader said the former Soviet Union had invaded and occupied Afghanistan in December 1979 and this was the beginning of terrorist activities in the region.

Hoti asks political parties to unite against violence

He added that since then, the monster of terrorism hadn’t been contained, with both Afghanistan and Pakistan badly suffering from it.

“Leaders of political parties are still not agreeing on the eradication of terrorism. They should unite for this common cause,” he said.

Mr Hoti said the independence of judiciary was badly damaged by judicial activism, while it was also crippled by material laws in the country.

“We [politicians] should learn from lawyers that they would contest elections against each other but soon sit together in the bar room and bury their differences,” he said.

The gathering was attended by the Supreme Court and high court bar leaders and lawyers.

Meanwhile, ANP provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Monday said the new wave of terrorism in the province was extremely dangerous, with its biggest loss being borne by Pakhtuns as it was fought on their land.

He was speaking to reporters after offering condolences for ANP activist Salar Munir Khan in Maneri Payyan village.

Munir was killed by gunmen with the ANP leader declaring it an incident of terrorism.

He said the terrorists targeted party leaders and workers under a well-planned strategy to weaken their resolve.

“Some people want to keep the issue of terrorism alive in this region because it benefits them,” he said.

Mr Hussain said that 1,250 ANP leaders and workers had been martyred by terrorists across the country.

“As followers of Bacha Khan, we will never deviate from our goal, which is in the interests of the nation and Pakhtuns. The campaign to control terrorism would continue,” he said.

The ANP leader blamed terrorism on the country’s flawed foreign and domestic policies and said those policies had driven the entire nation into deep trouble.

“We should make our policies keeping in mind our own interests and should not work for others,” he said.

Mr Hussain complained that Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan and India were at the lowest ebb, while its relations with Iran were also not warm due to closeness to America.

He also claimed that China had stopped work on CPEC as Pakistan supported America.

“We are passing through a very difficult time,” he said.

The ANP leader condemned ANP activist Munir Shah’s murder and demanded a police probe. He warned if the party wasn’t satisfied with the probe, it would “find its own way.”

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2025