PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) President Aimal Wali slammed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) stated that neither of them depicted the true face of the Pashtun people.
On the occasion, Aimal Wali said to the media that similarly he had never considered the Taliban of Afghanistan as the legitimate voice of the Afghan people, likewise he does not regard neither PTI nor TTP as the bona fide representatives of Pashtuns. He asserted that one group PTI and the other TTP are diametrically opposed to each other and they do not represent the realities of Pashtun society.
“The people on one side are totally different people from the other. “This is a fact, whether you like it or not,” Aimal Wali declared.
The ANP leader further denounced what he termed “Western designs” for the region, which he claimed were going to be the cause of instability there. According to him, the outsiders have set forth a “destructive agenda” for the area with the end intention being its conversion into a “hell.” Wali’s words were uttered when the situation in the region has yet to calm down and many political figures are still arguing about the growing power of TTP and PTI among the Pashtun population.
Similarly, Aimal Wali refused to agree that any of these factions (PTI or TTP) could possibly be the representative of the Pashtun people’s values, struggles, or identity. He declared, in fact, that his loyalty to the true vision of Pashtun nationalism rooted in peace, prosperity, and the people’s rights in the region was unshakeable.
The ANP chief’s statement becomes a reflection of the widening rupture in Pakistan’s political landscape, in particular, as regards the issue of Pashtun identity and the role played by the external powers in the region. The ANP, a party that is associated with being a strong advocate of Pashtun rights, has on many occasions expressed its dissatisfaction with not only PTI’s governance but also the influence of TTP.
Furthermore, Aimal Wali’s comments from one aspect of the large ongoing discussion about Pashtun political representation and the involvement of political factions in determining the future of the region and its identity. The question of Haqqani’s influence on the rise of anti-government groups has become more and more remarkable as the number of Pashtuns who feel politically unrepresented, both regarding their cultural identity and their socio-economic necessities, is on the rise.
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This repudiation of PTI and TTP’s authority by Aimal Wali declares loudly that the ANP is playing a pivotal role in speaking for the Pashtun people and showing that they are not susceptible to extreme ideologies and political manipulation.
