CHARSADDA: Awami National Party president Senator Aimal Wali Khan has called for bringing all state affairs under the Constitution, saying those who acknowledge the failure of the country’s governance system must now transfer authority to the people, the Parliament, and constitutional institutions.
Mr Khan was responding to the remarks made by Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi regarding the country’s governance system, according to a statement issued from Wali Bagh here on Friday.
Mr Khan said the nation knew who had exercised decisive influence over Pakistan’s political and administrative affairs since independence, adding that those responsible for policies that had weakened the system should also accept responsibility for the consequences.
“The time has come for all matters to be dealt with strictly under the Constitution,” he said, stressing that no individual, institution or influential group should act beyond its constitutional mandate. He maintained that every institution must perform its duties within its prescribed constitutional limits, describing this as the only path to a stronger state.
Says ANP wants stronger federation rather than any individual
The ANP chief said democracy remained the only viable solution to Pakistan’s political challenges. He argued that genuine democracy required more than periodic elections and should include the transfer of power to the people, devolution of authority to the grassroots, a strong local government system, constitutional rights for the provinces, and the Parliament serving as the country’s principal decision-making forum.
Mr Khan said the ANP’s position remained consistent with the political philosophy of Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan. He said the party’s politics revolved around public sovereignty, constitutional supremacy, democratic stability and a stronger federation rather than any individual, government or institution.
He said meaningful administrative reforms should begin with empowering citizens instead of merely creating new administrative units or redrawing boundaries. Lasting solutions, he said, depended on giving people authority over their resources, land and local decision-making.
The ANP president reiterated the party’s support for a strong federation, provincial autonomy and empowered citizens. He claimed that the merger of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the result of the party’s long political struggle.
Mr Khan said that if new administrative units were to be created, they should be based on national identities. He said the ANP believed that predominantly Pakhtun districts of Balochistan should, through a constitutional and democratic process, become part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so that Pakhtuns could exercise their democratic rights within a single administrative unit.
He clarified that the proposal was not a claim over anyone’s land or authority but reflected what he described as historical, cultural, linguistic and democratic realities. Any such decision, he said, should be made through public consultation, parliamentary debate and constitutional procedures rather than behind closed doors.
Mr Khan said Pakistan’s stability depended on public empowerment, an independent Parliament and judiciary, strong democratic institutions and the rule of the Constitution. He reaffirmed the ANP’s commitment to democratic politics, peaceful political struggle, national unity and the devolution of power to the grassroots.
Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2026