ANP chief seeks UK’s help to restore regional peace

Staff Report
PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) President and Senator Asfandyar Wali Khan sought the British government’s help on Wednesday to defuse tension and to restore peace in the region, according to a press release.In a meeting with Political Secretary at the British High Commission, Islamabad Lora Davis at the Bacha Khan Markaz, Asfandyar said the Pakhtun region was in trouble and was going through a difficult time.The political secretary promised she would convey the ANP president’s request to her government because the region needed peace and tranquillity.The meeting between the ANP president and Lora Davis took place and lasted for about an hour. The meeting discussed in depth the situation in Afghanistan and the tribal areas, terrorism and the political situation in Pakistan. The British diplomat appreciated ANP’s policy of non-violence and said the entire world was now promoting this policy.The ANP leader said that world leaders were portraying Pakhtuns as terrible people, which he added, was not true. He asked Britain to help remove this stigma. Asfandyar said that Pakhtuns did not produce Al Qaeda or Taliban, but that these were the product of “the establishment” and that the Pakhtun nation was paying the price for something it had not done. The ANP leader said innocent Pakhtuns were being killed on both sides of the Durand Line. He said there would be no peace in Pakistan and in the world if there was no peace in Afghanistan. The ANP chief and the British diplomat also discussed Iran, India and various problems in the region.
Daily Times
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