Asfandyar says he is not going to quit active politics

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Asfandyar Wali Khan on Saturday dismissed media reports that he was resigning from “active politics” due to security and health issues.

Addressing a press conference at the Chief Minister’s House after chairing the party’s central working committee meeting, he said he would not leave active politics until achieving his goals.

He dispelled the media reports that the ANP was likely to give him the ‘rehbar status’ to keep him off the active politics over security threats and health conditions.

Asfandyar Wali had narrowly survived a suicide attack at his Wali Bagh residence on October 2, 2008. He was immediately moved out and security around him stepped up to guard him against any possible attack.

The idea of keeping him off active politics, according to party sources, was aimed at “securing” him. “That idea could not win support from the central committee meeting on Friday,” the sources said.

The party had accorded ‘rehbar status’ to late Khan Abdul Wali Khan when his health deteriorated and made his son Asfandyar Wali Khan the party president.

“I have achieved many of the party goals, for example, renaming the province and provincial rights (under the 18th Amendment). However, I will continue to play my role as long as I have not achieved remaining goals, such as peace,” the nationalist leader declared.

Asfandyar, meanwhile, was categorical that kidnapping of his cousin and vice-chancellor of Islamia College University, Dr Ajaml Khan, would not make him rethink over the war against militancy. “No way... I will not back out form this war,” he said while admitting that the kidnappers might try to “blackmail” him over the demands for the release of kidnapped educationist. In the second video this week, the kidnappers set November 20 as new deadline to let the government consider their demands for Dr Ajmal’s release. However, the provincial government says it received no demands yet.

They central ANP president aired the party’s concerns on the introduction of new tax to support the floods victims. “We support broadening tax base. But we cannot support the move to burden the taxpayers more,” he announced.

Asfandyar Wali repeated the ANP demand for operation in Karachi to purge the metropolitan city of weapons. “You need operation to deweaponise the city,” he said, adding that peaceful Karachi “is in interest of everyone and Karachi does not belong to one ethnic group”.