WE live in a country where there is no proper democratic structure. Several parties operate like political dynasties and have strong family control where the leader is succeeded by his or her family member.

Let us note the intra-party polls of Awami National Party (ANP) a few days ago. Asfandyar Wali Khan ‘elected’ his son Aimal Wali Khan the president of ANP of Pakhtunkhwa. This move outraged the Bilour family that has close associations with ANP for the last 50 years.

Danyal Bilour, the son of Haroon Bilour, showed his discontent on this by saying he was forced not to contest the election. He said he wanted to contest the intra-party election because he already possessed the position of provincial information secretary. This led Danyal to resign from the ANP.

Such an undemocratic move by the ANP’s top leadership has saddened many of its workers. They believe that Asfandyar wants to give the key party posts only to his family members by ignoring the Bilour family, which has rendered several sacrifices for the party.

Democratic nations and parties prosper only if they have democratic values and structure and they chose their office-bearers on merit instead of family ties.

Syed Badshah
Buner

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2019