PESHAWAR, Dec 9: Pakhtun women urged menfolk to improve their national image by working for peace through non-violent means in all Pakhtun areas.

They were addressing a convention organised by the women’s wing of the Awami National Party at the Bacha Khan Centre here on Saturday.

The convention, which began with the ANP’s party song, praised services rendered by the Pakhtun nation. ANP’s women activists wore traditional red dresses and caps and sang party songs and delivered revolutionary speeches. Women supporters and activists from 10 districts of the province participated in the event.

Veteran ANP leader Begum Naseem Wali Khan praised efforts of the women’s wing of the party for holding such an unprecedented event and said during her 31 years in politics, she had been unable to hold such an event.

She said she was surprised at the women activists’ organisational capability and their keen interest in national politics.

More women should come forward and take part in politics as it affected their lives too, she said.

Women activists from Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Chrasadda, Swabi, Kohat and other districts addressed the gathering. They highlighted the activities of the women’s wing in their respective areas.

They said the women’s wing of the ANP was planning to strengthen the party at district level to improve their chances of winning the next general elections.

Asfandyar Wali Khan, ANP’s president, who was accompanied by his wife and daughter, congratulated the women activists for holding the convention.

He said the convention was actually the continuation of the Pakhtun peace jirga held last month so that we (the Pakhtuns) could convey the message of peace to the world.

Some people are promoting the wrong image of Pakhtuns by branding all of them as Taliban, but a Pakhtun is a Pakhtun and nothing else, Mr Asfandyar said.

Some elements want war and destruction in this region but we (the Puktuns) want global peace, he declared.

Earlier, Mr Asfandyar said the Pakhtuns were a peaceful people and the holding of the convention proved that the Pakhtun nation’s desire to live in peace.

Mr Asfandyar said: “You have rejected the claims that Pakhtuns are Taliban. All Pukhutns are not Taliban. Most of them are peaceful and want to live peacefully. The world must realize that two diverse groups of people are occupying the same region: one want to clash with the entire world while the second group wants peaceful co-existence with all nations.”

Criticising the MMA leadership, he said that it had made many a false claims, adding that the religious alliance should keep the promises it had made with the nation. “We did not ask them to resign but they (MMA) were keen to announce their intention to resign from the National. I wonder what is compelling them to backpedal on the issue,” he said.

ANP’s provincial president Bashir Bilour said: “We want peace in the ‘Pakhtunkhwa’. But Pakhtuns are portrayed negatively as a ‘conservative nation’ and ‘terrorists’ but we want to tell the world by holding such peaceful events that we are a progressive nation.”

The convention’s organisers announced to hold such a convention every year to strengthen the party.

Zahira Khattak, president of the ANP’s women wing, also addressed the convention.