Hassan Khan
In
response to Awami National Party Central President Asfandyar Wali Khan ambiguous
show cause notice; Mr Afrasiab Khattak in his detail reply asked the party
leadership to convene meetings of party relevant forums and discuss allegations
against me prior taking any decision.
Mr
Khattak reply had been already rejected by the party and consequently party
membership of Khattak was suspended - thus breaking his 50 years old association
with the nationalist’s party.
In his detail
response, Khattak referred to policies of state including imposition of Taliban on Afghanistan; blocking path of
democratic, progressive and nationalist parties in Pakhtun areas.
Complained of spilling blood of
thousands of innocents in Afghanistan; discouraging reforms in districts of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Khattak
asked the party leadership not to opt to be fence sitter or aloof from vital
issues facing Pakhtun nation and face the challenges posed by undemocratic
forces or non-state terrorists like excluding it from electoral process.
“It
is my sincere opinion a meeting of party’s relevant forums should be called to
discuss the allegations on me and other colleagues before making any final decision,”
says Khattak.
Following
is the detail reply of Afrasiab Khattak to the show cause notice.
Respected
Mian Iftikhar Hussain
Central
General Secretary ANP
On 5th November,
I read on social media of the show cause notice sent to me, which you wrote on
the instructions of the Central President. In the evening, I read the content
of the notice in my twitter DM. The next day, details were published in
newspapers. Two days later, I received the official notice in the mail.
In
this short notice, there is a cryptic reference to my engaging in activities
which have harmed the party’s interests and discipline. In the short response I
sent you on the first day, I said that if this notice mentioned one, two or
three activities then I could definitely explain my position but even after
this, I wasn’t given a clear charge-sheet.
I
joined the Pakhtun Students’ Federation in [1948]. From being a political
worker, with a 50-year long political life, I have some sense of party
discipline. I have obeyed the norm of civilized political discourse within the
party, according to its constitution and manifesto. Although I was completely
sidelined for the past 5 years, I have always discussed party policy within
relevant party institutions. And during this time, whatever task the party gave
me, I fulfilled to the best of my abilities.
From
student days, I have been affiliated with journalism in a part-time capacity.
At different times, I have written columns for different newspapers. However,
my newspaper columns are a reflection of my personal opinion and I have never
tried to imply that they reflect the party’s position.
Recently,
the party’s provincial and central council meetings were held. If there were
any allegations of violating discipline on any of us, then the central and
provincial council meetings were the relevant and democratic forum at which to
debate and decide this matter. But the issue wasn’t raised there.
In
democratic political parties, there are different opinions on which there is
ongoing debate. Who would know this better than the workers of NAP and ANP in
which, in better times, the meetings of the central committee would last for
days. A problem only arises when difference of opinion is no longer tolerated.
In
the Awami National Party, it is the considered opinion of many of us that in
the Pakistani state, undemocratic forces have not only failed to accept the
country’s federal, parliamentary and democratic constitutional system but have
constantly tried to destroy it. In particular, since 2014, there has been a
creeping coup which has the following goals:
Strangulating democratic freedoms by imposing a civil martial law
in the country, which has begun with the freedom of expression. The media is
being shackled with the chains of fascist restrictions.
To end the federal democratic system, in particular the 18th amendment, there are open and secret
conspiracies and, through a new edition of the doctrine of necessity, the
judiciary is being used to attack the federal democratic system. Cutting the
share of provinces in the NFC award unconstitutionally is being discussed
openly.
In order to advance the creeping coup, the political parties who
oppose it are being arm-twisted through state resources and force.
Accountability has not only become a source of political victimization but is
being used to destroy opposition parties and force people into the King’s
party.
The July 2018 elections were, in fact, the greatest theft of the
popular mandate in the country’s history in which the Election Commission,
judiciary, caretaker governments and army fully participated. For the first
time in the country’s history, political parties named the serving army
officers who interfered in the elections. Our party also held a day of protest
against election rigging on 30th But until
now, there has not been any investigation or legal action.
The goals of the creeping coup include imposing the Taliban on
Afghanistan and blocking the path of democratic, progressive and nationalist
parties in Pashtun areas. On one hand, this is spilling the blood of thousands
of innocents in Afghanistan and on the other hand, reforms have been stopped
and the western districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are being practically kept
under a martial law.
We
feel that in this situation the party of Bacha Khan and Wali Khan cannot remain
non-partisan and aloof. We also realize that the party has faced severe
pressure from undemocratic forces and the card of so-called non-state
terrorists has been used to spill the blood of the party’s countless martyrs
and to exclude it from the electoral process. Within the party, lists of
“acceptable” and “unacceptable” names have been circulating. I believe that
everyone is aware of this challenge facing the party. There can be different
opinions on the strategy used to deal with it. However, the way to solve this
problem is to call a meeting of the party’s relevant institutions and to arrive
at some conclusion through debate.
It
is my sincere opinion that a meeting of the party’s relevant forums should be
called to discuss the allegations on me and other colleagues, before making a
decision, and the political issues that I mentioned should also be examined in
order to reach a conclusion. (In the last meeting of the council, some of us
raised these issues but there was neither detailed discussion nor a decision).
In this case, I will abide by the decision of the party’s forums.
Afrasiab
Khattak
Member
Advisory Council and Central Executive Committee
Awami National Party
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