ANP President Says KP’s Natural Resources Belong to Its People
PROVINCE REPORT
PESHAWAR: The newly elected office bearers of the Awami National Party (ANP) USA and the Khudai Khidmatgar Organization (KKO) USA took oath at a ceremony in Philadelphia, USA.
ANP Central President Senator Aimal Wali Khan administered the oath to the ANP-USA office bearers, while KKO Salar-e-Azam Engineer Ijaz Yousafzai administered it to the KKO-USA office bearers.
Addressing the ceremony, Aimal Wali Khan said he was deeply saddened that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, despite being rich in natural resources such as water, oil, gas, electricity, mines and minerals worth billions of dollars, remained a province whose people continued to live in hardship. He said the wealth of the province could transform the lives of its people, yet they were still struggling for basic necessities.
“All the natural resources of our province are the right of its people, and we will not allow the federal government or other provinces to take away our rights,” he said.
He said basic human rights were absent in 12 districts of the province. “The Constitution is held in abeyance in these districts, and an additional secretary is in full control of each of them,” he said.
He congratulated ANP-USA and expressed hope that the new team would struggle for the Pashtun nation. He said the ANP had rendered enormous sacrifices for peace in Pakistan. “Our struggle is for the basic human rights of Pashtuns living in Pakistan. We are not against Pakistan and will continue our efforts to secure our due rights,” he said.
On the issue of dividing provinces, he said the problem and the reasons for division must first be identified and the issues needing attention discussed. “If the intention is to gain more money, we will not allow the NFC Award and the 18th Amendment to be bypassed,” he said.
Aimal Wali Khan also condemned the censorship of his speeches in Parliament. He said the speeches of the opposition leader and PTI leaders were always shown live on PTV, while his own speech was muted several times and, on most occasions, half of it was taken off air.
ANP Foreign Affairs Committee Secretary Sardar Hussain Babak congratulated ANP-USA and assured it of the party’s full support. He said the party would set up a foreign desk at Bacha Khan Markaz to remain in contact with the Pashtun diaspora and ANP chapters abroad. He said any problem faced by the diaspora would be raised and highlighted at various forums of Pakistan’s Parliament, and every effort would be made to resolve it.
Engineer Ijaz Yousafzai, ANP-USA President Dr Bashir Mohammad and ANP-USA General Secretary Shahid Iqbal Yousafzai also addressed the gathering.
A musical programme followed, in which the well-known Pashto singer Karan Khan performed to a delighted audience.
