SWABI, July 29: Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali said on Sunday that continued war on the Pukhtuns’ soil posed a grave threat to them and instead of struggling for their rights, they were now more worried about their future generations.

On the second day of his four-day visit to the Swabi district, the ANP chief visited Ghribabad, Asota, Sangbhatti, Ghulama, Kheshah, Sher Darra, Meherali, Parmoli, Madakhela, Naranji, Qamardand, Palosai, Amankot, Rafiqabad, Khalil and Shewa.

He stressed the need of unity among the Pukhtuns to confront the various challenges faced by them. He said the anti-Pukhtun elements had become a serious threat to their future.

He said Pukhtun people had been killed in Bajauar, Waziristan, Peshawar, Karachi, Tank, Charsadda, Balochistan and Afghanistan.

He said the ‘war on terror’ had shifted to the Pukhtun region and they were being weakened economically.

He said the current situation had been predicted by his late father Khan Abdul Wali Khan in view of Pakistan’s role during the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.

He said the Pukhtuns were being targeted in name of uprooting Taliban. “The whole Pukhtunkwa and all the Pukhtun regions are under fire,” he said.

Referring to rumours about a deal between the government and the People’s Party Parliamentarians, he said all the parties should unite and decide what they should do collectively in the prevailing scenario.

He said President Pervez Musharraf wanted to destroy the political culture of the country and if that happened, no one would be in a position to control the prevailing lawlessness.

The ANP chief said Pukhtuns had been brutally killed under a well-prepared strategy on May 12 in Karachi.

He said the ANP’s alliance with the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party was a great development which would enable the Pukhtuns to struggle from a joint platform. He said PMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai would accompany him during his next visit to Swabi.