CHARSADDA: Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan said on Friday that all the institutions should work in their domain as it would not only preserve their sanctity but also endear them to the masses.

Speaking to mediapersons after his party meeting at Wali Bagh here, he said that any collision between the legislature and judiciary would not be in the interest of the democracy.

The ANP chief said that his party had always respected courts.

However, he added that if political issues were decided in courts instead of parliament then the political activists would criticise such decisions. He said that if the institutions continued to work in their spheres it would endear them to the masses.

Mr Asfandyar said he was feeling that two forces were facing each other and a third force should come forward to cool things down. He said that it was imperative to hold Senate elections on time to keep a lid on the grievances of smaller provinces. He said that politics should not be dragged to the courts.

He said that ANP would always stand with the Constitution, democracy and parliament. He said that political issues should not be turned into personal ones. “The politics of minus one and minus two would end the political forces,” he observed.

The ANP chief also said that a multiparty conference should be called for a review of the internal and external policies. He criticised the National Accountability Bureau, saying the body was only pursuing cases against Nawaz Sharif and his family while ignoring other issues like the billion tree tsunami programme and Hayatabad flyover issues.

He said that he was not satisfied with the government’s steps regarding Fata’s mainstreaming.

He said that during a meeting the Chinese ambassador in Pakistan had assured him of work on western corridor of CPEC.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2018