PHILADELPHIA — Aimal Wali Khan, the central president of the Awami National Party, swore in the party’s new U.S. leadership at a ceremony in Philadelphia on Saturday night, using the gathering of Pashtun diaspora supporters to press Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s claim over its natural resources and to accuse Pakistan Television of censoring his speeches in Parliament.
Khan administered the oath to the newly elected office-bearers of ANP USA, while Engineer Ijaz Yousafzai, the Salar-e-Azam of the Khudai Khidmatgar Organization, administered the oath to the KKO USA team.
Addressing the ceremony, Khan said it saddened him that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rich in water, oil, gas, electricity, and mines and minerals worth billions of dollars, remained a province whose people struggle for basic necessities when its wealth could transform their lives.
“All the natural resources of our province are the right of its people, and we will not allow the federal government or other provinces to take away our rights,” he said.
He said basic human rights were absent in 12 districts of the province. “The Constitution is held in abeyance in these districts, and an additional secretary is in full control of each of them,” he said.
Khan also condemned what he called the censorship of his speeches in Parliament, saying the speeches of the opposition leader and PTI leaders were always shown live on PTV, while his own were muted several times and, on most occasions, half taken off air.
On proposals to create new provinces, he said the problem and the reasons for any division must first be identified and debated. “If the intention is to gain more money, we will not allow the NFC Award and the 18th Amendment to be bypassed,” he said.
Congratulating ANP USA, Khan said he hoped the new team would carry forward the struggle of the Pashtun nation, noting the ANP’s sacrifices for peace in Pakistan. “Our struggle is for the basic human rights of Pashtuns living in Pakistan. We are not against Pakistan and will continue our efforts to secure our due rights,” he said.
Sardar Hussain Babak, secretary of the ANP’s Foreign Affairs Committee, congratulated the U.S. chapter and assured it of the party’s full support. He said the party would set up a foreign desk at Bacha Khan Markaz to stay in contact with the Pashtun diaspora and ANP chapters abroad, and that problems faced by the diaspora would be raised at various forums of Pakistan’s Parliament, with every effort made to resolve them.
Engineer Ijaz Yousafzai, ANP USA President Dr Bashir Mohammad and ANP USA General Secretary Shahid Iqbal Yousafzai also addressed the gathering.
The Khudai Khidmatgar, or Servants of God, is the nonviolent Pashtun movement founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as Bacha Khan, to which the ANP traces its roots.
The evening closed with a musical programme in which the well-known Pashto singer Karan Khan performed to a delighted audience.
