SHANGLA: Awami National Party president Aimal Wali Khan on Thursday rejected the Mines and Minerals Bill, 2025, and said the supporters of the proposed legislation would lose the next elections.

He was addressing a ceremony held in the Barkan area here to appoint Sikandar Shahzad as the ANP`s deputy general secretary.

Mr Shahzad is the son of Mutawakil Khan, who served as the deputy generalsecretary of the ANP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and died in a road accident three months ago.

His family later chose Mr Shahzad as its elder, while the ANP appointed him to the same office his father held before his death.

ANP secretary generalSaleem Khan, provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain and other provincial and district leaders also spoke on the occasion.

The ANP chief said that his party would resist the Mines and Minerals Bill.

`If MPAs receive Rs1 billionfor voting for the bill, it will be a one-time gain and they will never be able to return to their constituencies to seek votes,` he said.

Mr Aimal also visited the house of former senator and JUI-F leader Maulana Rahat Hussain and met his elderbrother.

The ANP chief reiterated his party`s commitment to peace and warned against any attempts to exploit the resources or rights of the Pakhtun people.

`Our party is ideologically committed to peace,` he said.

Mr Aimal said tensions between India and Pakistan were growing, which should be addressed through dialogue.

`Both countries should act responsibly and avoid escalating conflict,` he said.

The ANP said that his ideological party had always stood for non-violence, following in the footsteps of Bacha Khan.

He, however, warned against attempting to bargain over Pakhtun lives and resources.

`We will not allow Pakhtuns to be traded. Any party or force that tries to rob the rights ofPakhtuns will be resisted,` he said.

Mr Aimal said that the ANP had long been striving for the rights of Pakhtuns, and warned that anyone attempting to `tamperwith`the 18th Constitutional Amendment would face serious consequences.

He also visited the grave of Mutawakil Khan, laid a wreath and offered Fateha.

The ANP leader also administered oath to the newly-elected cabinet of the Malgari Wakeelan.

DROWNED: A boy drowned in the River Indus in the Shang area of Bisham tehsil here on Thursday evening.

According to Rescue 1122, Sajjad Khan, 14, was swept away by strong currents of the river when was bathing to beat the heat.

Divers tried to relocate the body but failed.