PESHAWAR, Jan 11: Jamaat-i-Islami provincial chief Sirajul Haq on Thursday alleged that the Awami National Party had made a deal with President Pervez Musharraf and compromised the rights of Pukhtuns by taking part in the by-elections in the Bajaur Agency.

Speaking at a press conference at the press club, he termed the by-polls a drama and claimed that tribesmen of the Bajaur Agency had rejected the elections.

The ANP-backed candidate, Malik Shahabuddin Khan, had won the by-polls. The JI had boycotted the elections.

Mr Haq said that the tribesmen had supported the Jamaat and did not turn up to polling stations and alleged that secret agencies had cast ballot papers.

He said that the tribesmen had observed a black day to express their anger against the elections. He claimed that more than 30,000 people attended the JI rally.

He also criticised the ANP policy and said that the party had hurt sentiments of the people of the Bajaur Agency.