SWAT/SHANGLA: Several leaders of Awami National Party along with their supports in Swat and Shangla quit the party over organisational issues on Wednesday.

In Swat, ANP former central cabinet member Wajid Ali Khan along with several other leaders and a large number of workers announced to resign from the party.

The local chapter of ANP confirmed that Abdullah Yousafzai, a member of provincial working committee, Abdul Kareem, a former candidate of the party for National Assembly, Shah Khan, former president of Babuzai tehsil, Riaz Khan, former nazim, and several activists from Mingora and its suburbs also quit the party.

According to insiders, ANP core committee had issued a show cause notice to Wajid Ali and Abdullah Yousafzai for allegedly inciting workers to rebel against the leadership. However, they rejected the allegations and resigned from the party membership.

Sources said that bone of contention between the group, led by Wajid Ali, and the party leadership was allotment of tickets for the upcoming elections.

The departure of Wajid Ali, who remained member of provincial assembly twice and provincial minister, is considered a great setback for ANP.

In Shangla too, several leaders and workers announced to resign from ANP to protest sacking of the incumbent and former general secretaries of the party by the provincial president.

ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan had sacked incumbent district general secretary Mohammad Zakir Khan of Puran and Advocate Ali Bahadar Khan, who served the party as general secretary for several tenures. ANP provincial chief accused both of them of violating party discipline.

Following their ouster from the party, several leaders of ANP including district chief organiser of Khudai Khidmatgar Amani Mulk Khan, district vice president Aftab Ali and Chakesar tehsil general secretary Iftikhar Ahmad announced to quit the party.

Nasibul Haq, joint secretary of Puran tehsil, Arshad Betab, additional general secretary of Puran, Jamshed Iqbal, additional secretary of Chakesar, Sakhi Jan, president of Sundvi village council, Rozi Khan, president of Nem Kallay, and members of district council of ANP including Fazl Subhan, Naqibullah and Riaz Ahmad also resigned from the basic membership of the party.

Several other local leaders of the party including Mukhtar Ahmad, Shahab Ahmad and Mehboob Alam also quit the party to protest the decision of provincial president of the party.

Ali Bahadar Khan told this scribe that he was expelled from the party at the behest of those people, who recently joined the party for their vested interests.

Mohammad Azam Khan, district president of the party, said that there was no room in ANP for those, who violated party discipline.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023