ANP chief sees conspiracies against 18th Amendment

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) head Asfandyar Wali Khan on Thursday said that 18th Amendment to the Constitution had addressed the sense of deprivation of the smaller provinces.

On the 10th anniversary of the amendment, the ANP president said that it was the bright feature of the political history of the country which had addressed the problems of smaller provinces to a great extent.

Asfandyar Wali Khan said that his party leaders had made efforts for provincial autonomy and the rights of provinces over their resources, adding that ANP was on the forefront of ensuring this right to provinces. He said that their effort was materialized in 2010 when the amendment was passed unanimously from the parliament. The ANP chief said political parties would have celebrated this achievement but the coronavirus pandemic had forced the political forces from celebrating this achievement. The ANP president believed that interference in the affairs of the provinces had not been stopped.

He said that resorting to the old tactics of depriving the smaller provinces of their rights would damage the federation. The ANP chief alleged the federal government was hatching conspiracies against the amendments, saying undoing the 18th Amendment was not an easy task as the political forces would not allow such a move.

He said that the Pakhtuns and other smaller ethnic groups future was linked with the provincial autonomy. The ANP chief asked the government to release the 9th National Finance Commission Award forthwith as its delay was unconstitutional and damaging the federation. He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa share had increased after the merger of the erstwhile Fata in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal government should release it.