PESHAWAR, Dec 23: Veterans of Bacha Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar Movement have been galvanised into action after a long time and are seen engaged in a door-to-door election campaign in Swabi.

The elderly people are usually clad in the movement’s traditional red attire and bear an illuminated lantern, the election symbol of the Awami National Party.

The reason for the political rejuvenation of these elderly men, once active followers of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan known as Bacha Khan, is that Asfandyar Wali Khan, grandson of the leader of the non-violent movement, is contesting elections from NA-12 (Swabi-I).

Zaar Khan of Nazarkhel, Khair Mohammad of Mazamkhel, Yar Mohammad of Shamshakhel and Hikmat Khan Kaka of central Swabi, all in their 70s, have been visiting various localities, trying to persuade people to vote for Asfandyar Wali.

Adam Saaz Khattak, an elderly resident, who said he had earlier voted for the PPP, declared that he had been convinced by the Khudai Khidmatgars to vote for the ANP.

He said that he would honour these elderly men who had revived the real spirit of the Red Shirt Movement. “All 25 members of my family will vote to honour their spirit and political activism,” he said.

Swabi, like Charsadda district, was once considered to be a stronghold of the Red Shirt Movement.

These dedicated souls had been inactive for a long time after being disappointed by the party’s legislators voted in from the Swabi area. People in Swabi and elsewhere believe that Asfandyar Wali is trying to revive ideological politics and voting for the ANP would mean voting for provincial autonomy and giving the province a proper name.

Voter turnout in 2002 election in NA-12, which has a population density of 805 persons per square kilometre and 236,000 registered voters, was recorded 37.6 per cent.

The winner in 2002 general election was Mohammad Usman, a candidate of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal who defeated ANP’s Shehryar Khan by a margin of 21,787 votes.

Local political activists said that the current situation was different from the one in 2002 because people had enthusiastically voted the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal into power but the alliance had greatly disappointed them by not honouring its main electoral promise of enforcing Islam.