PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mian Iftikhar Hussain has called for practical measures to restore peace in the province, saying mere condemnations ofterroristattacks and seeking reports would not help resolve the security crisis.
Addressing a workers’ convention organised by the ANP Peshawar chapter here on Sunday, Mr Hussain said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had suffered immensely during the past five decades, with civilians and police personnel continuing to lose their lives in acts of terrorism.
He questioned why the people of the province were being blamed for terrorism when, according to him, terrorist groups were historically brought into the region and trained for strategic interests.
‘Who brought these terrorists here and who trained them? Who used this land for the interests of the US and Russia? Who brought Afghans here and later expelled them?’ he questioned.
Mr Hussain alleged that the policies of the state and the establishment had led to the situation, and said the ANP was a peaceloving and non-violent party.
With reference to Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, he said the closure of trade routes has severely affected trade and industry in KhyberPakhtunkhwa.
‘For the past one year, trade routes with Afghanistan have remained closed, causing serious damage to trade and industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,’ he said, adding that investors were moving to other provinces.
The ANP leader alleged that state policies were contributing to surge in terrorism.
Mr Hussain said the followers of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, popularly known as Bacha Khan, had consistently advocated peace and non-violence since the beginning of the militancy crisis.
He also criticised calls for the creation of new provinces, saying priority should be given to establishing peace and ensuring constitutional and financial rights.
Mr Hussain demanded full implementation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, provincial autonomy and the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, saying Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should receive its constitutional and financial rights.
‘The government will have to accept responsibility and take practical measures to establish peace,’ he said.
The ANP leader said that both the provincial and federal governments had failed to address the problems confronting people and alleged that their focus had shifted towards pleasing their ‘masters’ rather than resolving public issues.