PESHAWAR, Aug 24: Wor-kers of the Awami National Party (ANP) have condemned their party’s electoral deal with the People’s Party Parliame-ntarians (PPP) in Peshawar and vowed to field party workers on the seats handed over to the PPP.
Speaking at a news conference, held here on Saturday, ANP’s Inyatullah advocate and other workers said NA-1 had been a stronghold of the party, where Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour had defeated PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto in the past.
Mr Inyatullah said the ANP did not need to have a seat-to-seat adjustment with the PPP in Peshawar.
He described his party’s alliance with the PPP as unnatural and unworkable at the city level, where Awami National Party had a huge public support.
“We have decided to field ANP workers on the seats handed over to the PPP by our party”, he said.
National Party workers dispelled the impression that they had been sent by ANP leaders to exert pressure on PPP workers and to defuse the criticism being aired by the People’s Party activists against the ANP candidates.
The ANP, they said, could easily win the elections and needed no adjustment with the PPP, an arch-rival of the party.
PPP workers led by Khursheed advocate have already rejected the alliance with the ANP and announced on Friday to field PPP workers against the ANP candidates on NA-1, Peshawar-I, and on other seats.
They were opposed to handing over of NA-1 to the Awami National Party nominee, Usman Bilour.
The ANP workers warned PPP workers to stop criticizing National Party leadership otherwise they would respond them in the same tone.
They said National Party leaders were holding a meeting to decide on fielding party candidates against the PPP.
They said they would abandon their anti-PPP activities when the PPP workers would end their drive against the ANP candidates.
Many ANP workers, mostly hailing from rural areas, were present on the occasion.
The controversy had began when the PPP surrendered NA-1 to the ANP and advised its nominee, Mohammad Khursheed advocate, to withdraw his nomination in favour of Usman Bilour of the ANP.
The PPP workers on Friday also alleged their own provincial leadership for mortgaging Pakistan People’s Party to the ANP and for toeing line of the establishment.
They too were of the view that the PPP could easily win from Peshawar without striking any deal with the ANP.