ANP focusing on Peshawar valley to regain lost glory
Bureau Report

PESHAWAR—Like in the past, the Awami National Party (ANP) is again concentrating on Peshawar valley to regain its lost glory and vote bank and has fielded candidates on all 13 seats of the National Assembly and 37 seats of the Provincial Assembly in the valley. Commonly known as Peshawar valley consists of districts, Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, Mardan and Swabi which has always remained the stronghold of Awami National Party.
However, the 2002 election proved fatal not only for the ANP but for all mainstream political parties and MMA, unexpectedly and with great surprise to the electorate, MMA swept the election with a thumping majority not only in Peshawar valley but in the entire NWFP and emerged the single largest party in the province.
The Awami National Party had got only seven seats including two women seats of the Provincial Assembly out of 99 seats while it failed to get a single seat of the National Assembly in the entire province. It was the bye-elections of Bajaur in 2002 where the ANP candidate Shahabuddin Khan won a seat by defeating Jamaat-e-Islami candidate with 14,000 votes and was the single member of the party in the National Assembly.
Later Shahabuddin was expelled from the party by showing loyalty to the government in the Presidential election. Peshawar valley has remained the stronghold of both ANP and PPP during the last party-based general elections since 1970 and interesting contests were seen between the candidates of both political parties. In the previous party-based elections the ANP gained a considerable number of seats in the valley but the 1990 elections proved a blessing for the party when it swept polls in the valley and formed a coalition government with Pakistan Muslim League in NWFP.
The 2008 election are a test case for ANP as MMA, after its disintegration and losing its credibility in the masses for doing nothing for uplift of their electorates has lost the ground to regain its past result. The Awami National Party has a long history in Pukhtoon’s politics when its legendary leader and Khudai Khidmatgar Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Baacha Khan) formed the Red Shirt Movement and started struggle against British Raj.
The then National Awami Party (NAP) having in the fold legendary leaders like Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Atta Ullah Khan Mengal, Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri etc formed coalition governments with JUI in the NWFP and Balochistan after the 1970 general election and emerged the third largest party in national politics. In the January 8, 2008 elections, ANP has almost fielded old candidates for National and Provincial Assembly seats in Peshawar valley.
Asfandyar Wali Khan, Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Arbab Mohammad Zahir Khan, Tariq Hameed Khattak, Bashir Khan Omarzai, Nawabzada Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti, Nasim Ur Rehman Khan had won their seats in the past. Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan is contesting from two National Assembly seats, NA-7 Charsaddah one and NA 12 Swabi one.
While Arbab Najib Ullah NA 2 Peshawar Two,Mohammad Hasham Babar NA 3 Peshawar three,Masud Abbass NA 6 Nowshera six,Farooq Khan son of late Babu Mohammad Akram Khan NA 10 Mardan two and Mohammad Pervez Khan Advocate NA 13 Swabi two are the new aspirants for seats but they have a sound family and political background to make a breakthrough in these polls.
For the provincial assembly seats also ANP has fielded potential candidates to win considerable number of seats in the valley. Electioneering is gaining momentum after completion of filing nomination papers by the candidates of various political parties and there will be some interesting contests on some seats.