| Awami National Party Pashto: ملي عوامي ګوند Urdu: عوامی نيشنل پارٹی |
|
|---|---|
| Leader | Member of National Assembly Asfandyar Wali Khan |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Central Secretariat Parliament Lodges Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Ideology | Socialism on a pan-Islamic basis, Pashtun Nationalism |
| International affiliation | None |
| Website | |
| www.awaminationalparty.org/ | |
| Pakistan |
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The Awami National Party (ANP) is a Pashtun nationalist, socialist, centre-left political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Its main area of electoral influence is in the Pashtun dominated areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with some following in Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan.
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In 1986, the National Democratic Party merged with several other progressive political and ethnic nationalist groups to form the Awami National Party. Abdul Wali Khan was elected as its president and Sindhi nationalist Rasul Bakh Palijo was elected its secretary general. The party from 1986-1988 was a member of the Movement for Restoration of Democracy.
The party formed a coalition government with the People's Party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad after the 1988 election. This alliance collapsed in April 1989 after differences cropped up between the two parties.
The Awami National Party formed an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League in early June 1989 which led to a formal split in the party with many activists allying with the PPP.
After the election of Nawaz Sharif to power after the 1990 elections the ANP again formed a coalition with former rivals Pakistan Muslim League. This alliance proved longer lasting, surviving till 1998 when it collapsed over differences over Kalabagh Dam and renaming the province Pakhtunkhwa.[1] The party then joined the Grand Democratic Alliance, campaigning against the increasingly dictatorial Nawaz Sharif government's policies. After Nawaz Sharif's overthrow by Pervez Musharraf, the party stayed an active member of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, until the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, when it left the alliance over supporting the US ouster of the Taliban. The party's reputation was damaged in this period following the arrest of former Federal Minister and senior party leader Azam Khan Hoti.[2]
In the 2002 elections the party struck up an alliance with the People's party however both parties were electorally routed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the religion-political alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) riding on a wave of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.[3]
In the 2008 elections the party contested on its own and won a plurality of votes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as winning seats in Balochistan for the first time in 15 years and in Karachi for the first time. It subsequently formed a government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is supporting the PPP government in the centre and Sindh and Balochistan.[4]
The strongholds of the ANP are in the Pashtun areas of Pakistan, except in Punjab, particularly in the Peshawar valley of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Karachi hosts one of the largest Pashtun populations in the world with 7 million Pashtuns living there. In the election of 2008, the ANP won two Sindh assembly seats in Karachi.
The Awami National Party is one of the few parties in Pakistan to hold a system of regular internal general elections every four year period.[5]
.
]wali dad miani s/o haji haq dad zelai sadar ANP harnai
The party espouses a liberal pro-Pashtun philosophy advocating regional autonomy and increased cultural expression. A frequent coalition partner in provincial politics, it was routed in the 2002 elections because of its opposition to the Taliban and support for the US invasion of Afghanistan.
It joined the opposition All Parties Democratic Movement, and along with other partys except the Pakistan Peoples Party resigned from Parliament in October 2007 in protest against the military regime of Pervaiz Musharraf.
It was targeted in 2007 and 2008 by presumed supporters of the Taliban.[6][7] Despite the attacks, the party has advocated dialogue with moderate tribal elements to end present violence in the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It has rejected foreign interference in the region whether US or Al-Qaeda.[8] Since the 2008 elections the party has been the principal target of Tehreek-e-Taliban militants with over 100 activists by February 2009 having been assassinated by suicide bombers or in target killings.[9] It has also accused the Pakistani establishmentand
of being complicit in allowing the growth of the Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan because of its former support for the fighters.
In the 2008 elections, the Awami National Party beat Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a party formed by coalition of Islamic movements in 2002. It also won provincial seats in Balochistan and in Sindh for the first time. It formed a coalition government with the Pakistan People's Party in all three provinces. In the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa it has its first Chief minister since 1948.
On May 9, 2008 it was reported by DAWN quoting source from diplomatic sources that Asfandyar Wali Khan that he made a secret visit to the United States in which he made high level contacts with the U.S Central Command.[10] This has led to criticism of the party by conservatives for being pro-American.
175"|National Assembly !width="175"|NWFP Provincial Assembly seats won !width="175"|National percentage of polled votes |- |2008 |13 |48 + (2 in Karachi,Sindh)also three seats in Balochistan |- |2002 |0 |7 |1.0% |- |1997 |10 |32/80 |2.31 |- |1993 |03 |18/80 |1.67% |- |1990 |06 |23/80 |1.68% |- |1988 |02 |10/80 |2.80% |- |} [11]
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