PESHAWAR, June 8: The Awami National Party has demanded that the government should call back army troops from Balochistan and Waziristan.

In a resolution adopted by the party’s central executive committee at a meeting held at the Bacha Khan Centre here on Wednesday, the party urged the government to stop patronising the Taliban and fundamentalist groups based in the tribal area.

The meeting discussed the prevailing political and socio-economic situation in the country and adopted a number of resolutions calling for early resolution of the Balochistan and Waziristan crises. Pointing towards use of force against own people, the party urged the government to refrain from repeating the 1971 episode, which resulted into the creation of Bangladesh.

It stressed the need for holding a political dialogue with the genuine political leadership of Balochistan to end the crisis in the province. It said the government should desist from using force against the Baloch people struggling for their lawful political and economic rights.

“The use of military force against tribesmen in Waziristan is not a wise decision and it can lead to another disaster. The outdated political system introduced by the British rulers to deal with tribesmen has become redundant after intervention of the army in Fata,” the party observed.

The ANP expressed concern over the growing political vacuum in Fata which it alleged was being filled by fundamentalist groups enjoying backing of Islamabad, who were imposing their way of life on people of the area. The ANP proposed that the government should end the present status of Fata, annex it with the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas and grant it representation in the provincial assembly.

The party also expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the province and asked the NWFP government to call back Frontier Constabulary platoons from Sindh and detail them in Fata and other parts of the province.

It also called upon the Sindh government not to demolish makeshift settlements of Pakhtuns in the province, particularly in Karachi, and provide them with protection.

The meeting noted that the negotiation process between Pakistan and India was slow and urged the two countries to cut their defence expenditures and divert the amounts towards development of social sectors.

The ANP criticised the increase in the defence budget and claimed that armed forces would take away further Rs40 billion under the pension head.