PESHAWAR, March 10: The reconstituted committee of the NWFP chapter of the Awami National Party held its first meeting on Thursday.

“It was a routine meeting and the newly appointed office-bearers discussed party affairs with the provincial president Nasim Wali Khan,” said Hazoor Khan, secretary of the Bacha Khan Markaz.

He said the four new office-bearers and Amir Haider Hoti, the acting general-secretary of the NWFP chapter of the ANP, attended the meeting.

However, Ms Nasim Wali’s move of making appointments to the offices which had fallen vacant after members of the provincial committee resigned after developing differences with her led to a controversy as a delegation from Nowshera disputed the party membership of Wakeel Zaman Khattak, the new information secretary.

Sources said a delegation of the party’s Tappa Khattak Nama organization, led by its president Shezad Gul called on the party’s provincial chief ahead of the meeting.

The delegation challenged the appointment of the new information secretary and said he was not a member of the party.

The post was earlier held by Mian Iftikhar, who resigned on Feb 24 when Ms Wali refused to remove Provincial General Secretary Farid Toofan, who was later suspended by the party’s chief Asfandyar Wali Khan.

PPI adds: Talking to newsmen after the meeting, Ms Wali denied that any reconciliation efforts were under way for resolving the crisis in the party.

She said she had exercised her powers as the provincial president of the party and appointed new office-bearers to fill the vacant posts.

“I have the power to appoint 50 members of the provincial council, so using this power I have given membership to the new members and handed them over the responsibilities,” she said.

She said there was no need for reconciliation because every decision in the party had been taken according to its constitution.

About the removal of Mr Toofan, she said the party chief had the power to suspend anyone and she could not appoint him again.

In reply to a question, she said Asfandyar Wali had not taken her into confidence before suspending Mr Toofan.

She said she had urged those who had resigned from the party to resolve the differences amicably. “I gave them more than a week to withdraw their resignations but they did not agree,” she said.

She said the new office-bearers had been appointed temporarily as the provincial council of the party would have to repose confidence in them.

The provincial council would either show confidence in them or elect new office-bearers, she said.

She said Mr Toofan was a good worker of the ANP and there was no need to issue the show-cause notice against him to the press.