ANP Multi-Party Conference Over Achakzai Arrest
The ANP multi-party conference will meet in Quetta on Nov 6 to decide the party’s next steps after the arrest of its Balochistan president, Asghar Khan Achakzai. The announcement was made by the party’s acting provincial president, Jamaluddin Rishtya, at a press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Friday.
Mr Rishtya condemned the arrest and described the charges against Mr Achakzai as fake, baseless and fabricated. That description is the party’s position; the report of the press conference did not detail the specific case in which Mr Achakzai was arrested, and this article does not add any charge that was not stated.
What the ANP multi-party conference will decide
The conference, known as an MPC, will bring together political parties, members of the legal fraternity and traders’ associations. All three groups will be formally invited, Mr Rishtya said, and the meeting will decide the party’s future course of action.
The choice of an MPC matters. It is a way for a party to build a joint position with others before it picks a protest, a legal step or a negotiation. By inviting lawyers and traders as well as parties, the ANP is signalling that it wants the response to reach beyond its own workers.
The date also matters. Nov 6 gives the party a week to gather invitations and responses, and it sets a clear point at which its next move will be announced. Until then, the stated position is condemnation of the arrest and a call for a joint decision.
The party’s stated principles
Mr Rishtya said the party would not abandon the non-violent philosophy of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as Bacha Khan, or its struggle for the rights of oppressed nations, in response to what he called cheap tactics. He said the Awami National Party believed in respect, freedom and autonomy of the judiciary and the rule of law, and that its leaders had sacrificed their lives for those principles.
He also said concern was growing among party workers and supporters, and that the principles of justice and merit did not appear to have been upheld in Mr Achakzai’s case. That is the party’s claim about the case, and it should be read as such: no court finding on the arrest was reported in the item.
Mr Rishtya spoke about Mr Achakzai’s standing in the province. He said Mr Achakzai had worked for brotherhood, unity and harmony among different ethnic groups and tribes in Balochistan, and had often helped mediate and resolve longstanding tribal disputes. Implicating a leader of that stature in a serious case, he said, reflected alleged malice and political victimisation by the government and local administration, while disregarding the traditions, values and history of the province. Those last points are allegations made by the party, not findings by a court.
Why Balochistan politics watches this case
Balochistan’s politics often turn on the standing of provincial leaders and on how disputes between groups are handled. A party that presents itself as a mediator between tribes will treat the arrest of its provincial president as a test of its own position, not only as a legal matter for one man.
The ANP announcement also comes at a time when provincial politics and electoral questions are live across the country. Opposition parties have been pressed to join a joint parliamentary committee on electoral reforms, and the Balochistan Assembly recently dropped a resolution on the sardari system. Those items are separate from the Achakzai case, but they show a province and a parliament in which party positions and institutional questions are being argued in public at the same time.
What happens next
Frequently asked questions
When will the ANP multi-party conference meet?
The multi-party conference will be held in Quetta on Nov 6 to decide the party’s future course of action over the arrest of Asghar Khan Achakzai.
Who announced the conference?
Acting president of the Awami National Party in Balochistan, Jamaluddin Rishtya, announced it at a press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Friday.
Who will be invited to the conference?
All political parties, members of the legal fraternity and traders’ associations will be formally invited to attend, according to Mr Rishtya.
What did the ANP say about the charges?
Mr Rishtya described the charges against Mr Achakzai as fake, baseless and fabricated. That is the party’s position; the press conference report did not detail the specific case.
