SWABI, Nov 30: Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan said on Friday that if all political parties unanimously decided to boycott the Jan 8 election, he would be the first man to withdraw his nomination papers.

Addressing a public meeting after the acceptance of his nomination papers for NA-12, Swabi-1, he said that there was a dire need to call an all-party conference to take a unanimous decision about the election.

He said the election could only be made meaningless after a unanimous boycott by all parties.

He said that some key leaders had announced the election boycott about three months back but they violated their pledges and embarked on campaign for the election.

“The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) had unanimously declared on Thursday that they would not participate in the election linking it with enlisting the Pakistan People’s Party and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam support.”

Asfandyar said that some political parties and leaders were contesting election by virtue of their wealth, but the ANP had placed its ideological stand before the voters.

The ANP leadership, he said, had always opposed the dictatorial regimes and the party had already declared that President Musharraf was not acceptable with or without uniform.

He said that it was extremely vital for Pakhtuns to face the serious confronting challenges collectively.

He said that some people had labelled the “war on terror” being fought on the Pakhtun soil as jihad.

He said that in fact it was a war for the eradication of the Pakhtun nation because all their terrains were under the shadows of guns and bomb blasts.

“If it is a jihad why it is being fought only on Pakhtun soil and not in Punjab.”

Neither Al Qaeda nor the Taliban were the products of Pakhtuns, he said. “These people are products of the establishment”.

He said that none of the political parties had raised voice for the rights of Pukhtuns and only the ANP continued its struggle for their rights.