Bacha Khan’s 17th death anniversary: ANP stopped from going to Jalalabad

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: The political administration of Khyber Agency on Saturday stopped a delegation of the Awami National Party (ANP) from going to Afghanistan to observe the 17th death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan, popularly known as Bacha Khan, in Jalalabad.

The delegation led by Imran Afridi, ANP president from the tribal areas, was stopped at Tkhta Baig. The ANP central and provincial leadership have condemned the political administration’s act.

Later the agency administration also stopped another ANP procession at Bara Tehsil of the agency led by Mr Afridi from participating in Bacha Khan’s death anniversary celebrations in Peshawar.

The party high command, however, directed the party workers to refrain from violence and offer fateha for the soul of Bacha Khan, according to a statement issued yesterday (Saturday).

Speaking to participants, Imran Afridi, Haji Rasool Jan, Anwar Shah Dawar, Zahoor Afridi, Ahmad Din Dawar, Innayatullah Wazir and Fazlki Hameed Dawar, said that the Durand Line was a conspiracy to divide Pakhtuns and they would not accept this line. They said they had no intentions to carry out any political agenda while participating in the death anniversary programmes of Bacha Khan in Jalalabad but the political administration’s action had proved that tribals were still treated as slaves. The speakers said in the past the tribesmen living on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border had never been stopped from meeting each other but the NWFP governor’s action had put the country’s solidarity at stake.

They said the Frontier Crime Regulations (FCR) were not acceptable to the tribal people as no one could ban tribal customs and traditions.

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