SWABI, Dec 16: The Awami National Party has vowed to defend the national rights of the Pukhtuns, who it say are deprived of their rights deliberately.

The party's district president Haji Rehmanullah was speaking at a function here on Thursday in which workers of other political parties pledged their allegiance to the ANP.

Mr Rehmanullah termed it strange that one province was indiscriminately using NWFP's resources and prospering. He urged the Pukhtuns to realize that the Frontier province was deprived of its royalty on electricity generation.

Describing the NWFP a treasure house of minerals, he said that it was also blessed with an abundance of forest wealth and tobacco but the situation is so bad that there is not enough space for children to sit in school.

ANP MPAs belonging to the district also spoke on the occasion. They said that they would continue their fight for achieving the rights of the Pukhtuns. They said that the ruling religious alliance was always looking to Islamabad and could do nothing for the people.

ELECTION: Jalil Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Saiyar Khan have returned unopposed as president and general secretary of the Abaseen Union of Journalists while Mohammad Farooq has been nominated as patron-in-chief.

A committee comprising Muqaddam Khan, Abdul Samad, Muhammad Siyar and Muhammad Iqbal was unanimously authorized to propose the names of the office-bearers.

THE OTHER OFFICER-BEARERS ARE: senior vice-president Salim Alizai, vice-president-1 Babu Lajbar, vice-president-II Hussain Khan Jadoon, deputy general secretary Shaukat Ali, joint-secretary Amjad Ali, information secretary Mohammad Shoaib, finance secretary Mohammad Iqbal and office secretary Mohammad Fazil.