KARAK, Nov 12: Scores of senior workers and local leaders quit the ruling Awami National Party after developing differences with Provincial Minister for Prisons Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel and district president of the party.
The decision to quit the party was taken at a meeting of the disgruntled workers here on Monday. Former naib nazim of Banda Daud Shah tehsil Rehman Gul Tariq, former tehsil president of ANP Farman Shah, president of Terri union council Raees Badshah and presidents of different wards including Iqbal Shah, Aurangzeb, Mamoor Shah, Abid Gul, Shah Hussain, Shahid Khan, Murad Gul and Abdul Shafique attended the meeting.
They said that ANP would lose all workers in the tehsil during the next couple of days as more dissidents would resignation from the basic membership of the party.
The dissident workers alleged that the party was hijacked by few opportunists and commission mafia. They said that their efforts to strengthen the party were ruined by those opportunists.
They alleged that the policies of Provincial Minister Mian Nisar Gul proved fatal for the party in the tehsil. They said that the minister distributed all pressure pumps among his blue-eyed people as not a single pump was installed for any party worker.
The dissidents alleged that the minister and ANP district president Usman Khattak exploited the party workers and obliged only their supporters and sycophants.
They alleged that the minister adopted the divide and rule policy in the party and distributed funds of oil and gas royalty among his supporters.
They said that a single candidate of ANP would not win a seat from district Karak in the upcoming general elections.
The disgruntled workers said that they brought the issue in the notice of district and provincial leadership of the party but no avail. They said that party leaders had no time for those workers, who had devotedly served the party for more than 35 years.
They said that they resigned from the basic membership of the party. They added that they would join any other political party after making consultations with their friends and supporters.