• Rules out any partnership between ANP and Imran Khan’s party
• Says Karachi belongs equally to every ethnic community

KARACHI: Ruling out any political alliance or partnership with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), chief of Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Aimal Wali Khan said that Imran Khan’s party was actually a “political wing” of the Taliban movement, which had been launched as a project by the then establishment.

Speaking at the Karachi Press Club’s ‘Meet the Press’ programme on Tuesday, the ANP chief questioned the performance of the PTI-led provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) over the decade and claimed that the “state writ” in the northwest province was almost non-existent.

“The PTI has never been a reality as it was a party which was created by our institutions,” he said.

“Behind this party there is an ideology of West. That’s why you often hear voice being raised from US Senate and British parliament in support of Imran Khan. The PTI and ANP can never be the same and can never unite. The PTI is actually a political wing of Taliban,” Mr Wali Khan said.

He added that the people could witness this “fact” through the performance of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.“Almost half of the province is without police control.”

He said that the PTI was launched as a project which “terribly failed” exposing the competence of both its creators and its leaders.

First it was militancy in the name of Jihad which damaged the political, cultural and social fabric of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and then experiment in the name of new political forces destroyed the law and order, he added.

He said that in democracy no curb should be placed on any activity which remained under domain of the Constitution.

The ANP chief said that every community living in Karachi had equal rights and criticised the attempts to divide people on ethnic lines, saying that the business capital belonged equally to every ethnic entity.

Responding to a question about proposed constitutional court, he supported the move while criticising the performance of the country’s judicial system.

He said one could only hope that the judicial reforms bring about some positive changes in the performance of courts which had “lost the credibility over the years”.

“Unfortunately, our courts pick and hear cases and then issue verdict on the basis of popularity and media coverage. It’s our party’s commitment to support any legislation that upholds the supremacy of the parliament,” said the ANP chief.

He added that the ANP had a long history of advocating for parliamentary democracy and democratic traditions.

Stressing the importance of independent judiciary, he said that it was a fundamental pillar of the state that must be preserved at all costs.

Replying to a question, he opposed the idea of banning any political party, calling it a “tradition of dictators”.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2024