BAJAUR: Awami National Party provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak has said that his party was not against the Afghan Taliban, but only condemned violence and terror incidents in Afghanistan.

“Let me be clear that our party is not against the Taliban, but is only against the bloodshed, which has plagued the neighbouring country for decades. The terror unleashed on the people of Afghanistan during the past decades has been the work of Taliban,” said Mr Babak while addressing a workers’ convention here the other day.

ANP’s provincial organising committee members also attended the convention held at the residence of the party’s district president Gul Afzal Khan in Khar.

Mr Babak said his party believed in democracy and non-violence policy and was against all sorts of violence whether committed in Pakistan or Afghanistan. He said such acts were also against the spirit of Islam.

He criticised the Afghan Taliban for forcibly overtaking the country, and said it might drag the country into civil war.

The ANP leader praised the deposed Afghan president Dr Ashraf Ghani for leaving the country in order to avoid possible bloodshed in Afghanistan.

He said had Ashraf Ghani stayed in Kabul the country would have plunged into chaos and turmoil.

He also slammed the international community, especially the big powers and Muslim countries, for not supporting the Dr Ashraf Ghani’s administration against the Taliban.

The gathering was also addressed by ANP district president Gul Afzal Khan and others. They asked the workers to play role in strengthening ANP in Bajaur.

The speakers flayed the federal and provincial governments for ignoring the tribal districts in development funds.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2021