PESHAWAR: The central council of the Awami National Party (ANP) has elected Asfandyar Wali Khan as the party’s president for the fourth time.

He was elected unanimously for the next four years by the 600-member committee at a meeting held at the Chief Minister’s House.

Senator Mohammad Adeel and Ihsan Wayne were re-elected as senior vice-president and general secretary, respectively.

Hashim Babar was elected finance secretary, Tajuddin Khan additional secretary general, Nawabzada Mohsin Ali Khan deputy general secretary, Senator Zahid Khan information secretary, Dr Haider Ali foreign affairs secretary, Asmatullah Khan culture secretary and Rana Gul Afridi labour secretary.

Talking to the council’s members, Asfandyar Wali said restoration of peace was ANP’s objective.

He said dialogue could be held with those accepting the writ of the government and guaranteeing that their territories would not be used against others and foreign terrorists would be evicted.

He said the Mohmand Agency incident was a violation of the country’s sovereignty which should be strongly condemned and the United Nations must take notice of the violation of its charter.

He said the role of Nato and International Security Assistance Force was limited to Afghanistan under the UN Charter and they had no authority to operate outside that country.

The ANP chief thanked President Asif Ali Zardari for upholding the Pakhtuns’ identity.

He said provincial autonomy under the 18th Amendment and scrapping of the Kalabagh dam project were ‘landmark achievements’.

Mr Wali praised reforms introduced in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and demanded more steps in this regard.

He said peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan was inter-linked and both countries should ensure that their land is not used against each other.

He said ANP was the only party having a programme for people’s welfare and it had implemented its manifesto.