LANDI KOTAL, Dec 10: Cracks have appeared in the Khyber Agency chapter of Awami National Party as its former agency president announces to support the sitting MNA, who was elected as an independent candidate, and two of its office-bearers defect to Jamaat-i-Islami in Bara tehsil.

ANP’s former agency president Abdur Rahim Afridi told a function organised by MNA Allama Noorul Haq Qadri in Peshawar of late that he along with his relatives would support the sitting MNA in the coming elections. Mr Afridi told Dawn that he was disappointed with the role of all political forces in pleading the case of Fata.

“Fata and its issues are not on the radars of any political party nor does Fata prominently figure in their election manifestos,” he said.

He said he was keenly observing the performance of political parties and MNAs for quite sometime and had reached the conclusion that Noorul Haq Qadri always talked about Fata and had effectively raised his voice for the rights of Fata people.

“He may not be a member of a political party but he has a deep political acumen and could prove to be a suitable candidate from NA-45 for the next elections,” he said.

Mr Afridi is also the central convener of Fata Democratic Alliance, which was formed in 2010 when he was president of ANP Khyber Agency.

The alliance was formed at a time when the demand for the extension of Political Parties Act to Fata had gained a lot of momentum and FDA was at the forefront of demanding political rights for the people of Fata and a complete repeal of Frontier Crimes Regulation. In Bara tehsil, ANP Bar Qambarkhel president Javed Afridi and general secretary Haji Sabir along with their supporters resigned from the party and joined Jamaat-i-Islami on Monday.

Haji Sabir told Dawn that despite two decades of association with ANP, the central leadership failed to raise an effective voice about the prevailing situation in Bara and therefore, he had decided to part ways with it.

“Despite being in power both in the centre and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ANP did not extend any help to the violence-affected people of Bara and always ignored our repeated appeals for their help and assistance,” he said.