Meeting held in Swabi to form new political party
Party to include disheartened, liberal nationalists
Disheartened, progressive nationalists are coming together to establish a new liberal and democratic political force for safeguarding the interests of Pakhtoons and neglected people throughout the country.
Two former provincial vice presidents of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) headed by former interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao are actively involved in establishing the new political party.
Sources told Pakistan Today that a large number of like-minded political stalwarts held a meeting in Baja village of Swabi district on Saturday.
Majority of the participants belonged to Swabi district whereas one was from Peshawar.
Those attending the meeting included Alamzeb Khan, Usman Khalil, Abdul Khaliq and Kamdar Khan amongst others.
Alamzeb and Usman have played a key role in converting the Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) into the QWP.
After the inception of the QWP, Alamzeb and Usman became its provincial vice presidents but later quit the party.
Both of them have also been members of the Qaumi Inqilabi Party (QIP), Pakhtunkhwa Qaumi Watan Party (PQWP) and National Awami Party (NAP) Pakistan.
Although these three political parties do not exist any more, their members are considered to be anti-Awami National Party (ANP).
Abdul Khaliq Khan and Kamdar Khan are counted amongst the ‘khudai khidmatgars’ and companions of late Khan Abdul Wali Khan.
According to sources, participants of the Swabi meeting wanted to assemble “like-minded disheartened, progressive, nationalist and liberal-minded colleagues on one forum”.
Previously, Swabi was considered a stronghold of the ANP but following the party’s defeat from Swabi in the 2013 general elections, a large number of the ANP leaders and even heirs of ‘khudayee khidmatgars’ joined other political parties.
Some of the nationalists who established the anti-ANP parties had earlier been part of late Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo’s Pakistan National Party. Later they joined the ANP but after five years, they established the QIP.
The QIP was later merged with Mohammad Afzal Khan alias Khan Lala’s Pakhtunkhwa Qaumi Party. Then they became part of late Ajmal Khattak’s NAP Pakistan.
They again joined ANP for a few years when the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) won the 2002 general elections but later joined PPP-S and forced Sherpao to rename the party as QWP.
Now these politicians are planning to establish another political force.