PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party–United States of America (ANP-USA) Organizing Committee has condemned the attack on the residence of the party’s Swat senior vice president, Mumtaz Ali Khan, and expressed solidarity with him and his family.
In a statement issued on Thursday, ANP-USA Information Secretary Tauseef-ur-Rehman Muhammadzai said the repeated attacks on Mumtaz Ali Khan exposed the government’s failure to protect citizens and political workers in Swat.
He questioned how armed men could lay siege to a private residence and open fire on it for hours without any timely response, and under whose patronage such elements were able to strike openly and escape with ease each time.
The ANP leader said it was deeply painful that three members of Mumtaz Ali Khan’s family, along with rescue workers, were injured in the attack. He prayed for their speedy recovery. He said Mumtaz Ali Khan had no personal enmity with anyone and had devoted his life to struggling alongside the ANP for the rights of his people. His family, he added, had already made immense sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.
The ANP office-bearer said the entire party stood shoulder to shoulder with Mumtaz Ali Khan and his family during this difficult time, adding that no cowardly attack, past or future, could shake the ANP from its principled stance.
He demanded an immediate and transparent investigation into the incident, calling for those responsible and their facilitators to be brought to justice, urging authorities to provide foolproof security to Mumtaz Ali Khan and his family.
