ANP Facing Severe Crisis

Tariq Butt

Publishing Date: Wednesday, March 2 2005

The Awami National Party (ANP), already facing great electoral marginalisation, is confronted with severe crisis that may result in its fragmentation. This time, ANP President Asfandyar Wali and its NWFP chief Begum Nasim Wali seem at odds over the present discord and dissension in the party. And the person, who has caused strife and contention, is Farid Toofan, whom Nawaz Sharif, as prime minister, used to lovingly call Farid Tornado.

Seven prominent members of the ANP hierarchy in the NWFP have stepped down, protesting Toofan's nonchalance. The provincial chapter has accepted their resignations but Asfandyar has issued a show cause notice to NWFP Secretary General Toofan to explain his conduct vis-a-vis the protesters. Begum Nasim considers Toofan as a longstanding loyalist. The ANP topnotchers are engaged in controlling damage to the party and have put up a stop-gap set up at the provincial level. The interim organization is likely to be replaced with a new body to be elected through elections.

For the past few years, the ANP has been on the downslide and its electoral strength has considerably whittled down. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) tremendously ruined the ANP in the last general elections. The fissures that the ANP faced on the eve of these polls also contributed to the damage that it faced at the husting.

Over the years, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and now the MMA have inflicted colossal damage on the ANP If it failed to arrest the decline, there are fears that it would be reduced to a political nonentity in the next elections. For quite a considerable time after General Pervez Musharraf
took over in October 2002 dismissing the Nawaz Sharif government, the ANP supported his rule. But it became particularly bit-ter and disenchanted with him after the MMA's convincing victory in the NWFP in the last general elections. Now, the ANP shares the views of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) though it hasn't yet joined the grouping formally. There are indications that it would shortly be in the ARD's fold.

With ANP Rahbar Khan Abdul Wali Khan not keeping a good health mainly because of old age for the past few years, Begum Nasim and Asfandyar have been running the party. However, they have failed to nip the present crisis in the bud. If the estranged leaders are not rehabilitated according to their satisfaction and the party's public face is not improved, the ANP will further plunge into crisis and conflict.

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