KARACHI: The Awami Workers Party (AWP) is not against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), but it `unequivocally` supports the reservation of its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter over the route of the corridor, said AWP president AbidHassan Minto at the concluding session of the party`s second federal congress.

Explaining his stance, during a half hour speech at the Arts Council on Sunday, Minto deliberated on a few issues. He said that for quite some time he was being asked about the AWP`s stance on a number of ongoing developments in the country, including CPEC. `Our official stance is clear. We have reservations over the route of the corridor but not the project itself. We feel that there should be development,` he added.

When it came to Balochistan, he said the people in the province were demanding their right to have their resources which should be given to them.

Speaking further, Minto said there wereseveral nationalist movements seeking independence from either imperialism or the state. `We can look at several ongoing movements and yet choose not to become a part of them. Nationalist movements struggle and fight on their own. At the same time, there is a difference between fighting against state oppression and challenging the foundation or basis of a country,` he added.

Speaking about armed struggle the world over, he said that groups involved in armed struggle had to eventually sit and negotiate on political grounds. `In most cases, political struggle took over armed struggle. It was borne out of a realisation that even if a group gains independence in a backward country, how will it run its affairs without indulgingin politics?` He said the world witnessed two major events: the formation of the Soviet Union and its dissolution. `There was no coup; no one took over from the other. Yet, it makes for a fascinating study even today,` he added.

On the topic of countering Jihadi mindset, Minto said it was an ongoing struggle. He said that Pakistan is a country `created in the name of religion. It is also a place where many people are killed for following their religion.

He said that `in almost the 70 years of its existence, Pakistan is still run by imperial forces. One of the biggest challenges in the future would be to weed out feudalism as it is the core of most issues the country faces.

As soon as the concluding ceremony ended, another one opened in the open hall for the workers who had travelled from across the country. Among the participants were poets, writers and workers from Sindh, southern Punjab, Rahim Yar Khan and KK. Most of them recited poetry regarding their struggles.Among them was the daughter of publisher and writer Abdul Wahid Baloch.

Hani Wahid spoke about her father`s disappearance and demanded that he be presented before a court of law. `It is easy to pacify me by saying that he will return home. But I know how I spend most of my days; thinking that that was the last time I saw him as he left home. It won`t be easy to silence me any longer,` she added, as the crowd listened to her speech in silence.