PESHAWAR: Central leader of Awami National Party (ANP) Asfandyar Wali Khan congratulated the people of tribal districts over the passage of 26th amendment and demanded the federal government to conduct election in tribal areas without delay.
National Assembly, on May 13, unanimously passed ‘The 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2019’. It was moved by Member National Assembly (MNA) Mohsin Dawar. Under the amendment, seats of tribal districts in NA will retain at 12 while seats in KP assembly it will be increased to 24 from 16. A total of 288 lawmakers voted in favour, while none voted against the bill.
While talking to media in Wali Bagh Charsadda, Asfandyar said that it was the demand of his party to increase seats for tribal areas. He expressed that there would have no delay in election, if the bill was passed before the announcement of election schedule.
After the passage of the bill, the election in tribal districts, which was scheduled on July 2, will now be delayed for at least six months.
The ANP leadership has also written a letter to the Chairman Election commission to ensure free and fair elections. They asked the ECP to avoid deployment of security forces inside the polling stations. The letter written by the ANP Provincial Chief Aimal Wali Khan added the security personnel should be deployed outside the polling station to ensure peace and security.
The provincial head of the ANP alleged that that 2018 general election were also influenced by the security forces men deployed inside the pollution station. Aimal Wali said that in this regard, the ANP reservations have yet to be removed by the ECP.
Asfandyar Wali Khan during his media talk said that people of tribal districts have been kept deprived since the creation of Pakistan. Now, he stressed, the government should provide basic facilities of life and hold election without delay so that they could elect their representatives to raise voice for their rights.
