>>> In Urdu <<<
The purpose of this Manifesto is to inform
the public about the aims and objectives of the Awami
National Party (ANP) so that voters in the forthcoming
General Elections will know clearly what the Party stands
for. The mnanifesto does not purport to be a detailed
programme of action. It seeks only to describe the spirit
that motivates the Party and the overall principles that
will govern its policies, should it be called upon to serve
the people of Pakistan and of the entire Pukhtunkhwa in
particular, either singly or in partnership with others.
The Manifesto is divided into the following parts:-
The Preamble
Internal Affairs
.1. Political, Legal and Administrative
2.2. Socio-Economic
2.3. Women’s Rights and Empowerment
External Affairs
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
THE PREAMBLE
The Awami National Party draws its inspiration from the
example and teachings of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan,
affectionately known to his people as Baacha Khan. He spent
his entire life in the struggle for freedom and justice. He
and his Khudai
Khidmatgars offered great sacrifices in the
fight against colonialism, imperialism and all other forms
of oppression. In a broader sense, Baacha Khan saw politics
as the highest form of public service and often described
himself as only a social worker. His objective was to
liberate the masses of South Asia and, particularly, his own
people, the Pukhtuns, from the shackles of ignorance and
poverty, so that they could rise to their full potential.
In keeping with this spirit, the ANP, like its
predecessors, the NAP (National Awami Party) and the NDP
(National Democratic Party), looks upon politics primarily
as a public service, particularly to the poor and the
disadvantaged. Hence the Party is dedicated to the promotion
of democracy and freedom, the eradication of poverty, the
protection of human rights, the combating of extremism in
all its forms and the creation of equal opportunities for
all citizens. It firmly believes in peace and non-violence
as the best way to resolve all issues. It is committed to
securing for all the federating units of Pakistan their full
political, social and economic rights as equal partners in
the federation and their fair share in national progress and
prosperity.
In the pursuit of these goals, the ANP is ready to work
together with like-minded forces in Pakistan and to
subscribe to partnerships with all peace loving countries of
the world.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS
2.1 Political, Legal and Administrative
The ANP will strive for the establishment of a peaceful,
prosperous, progressive and liberal society based on the
following principles:-
· Democracy
and the rule of law.
· Protection
of the rights and identities of the peoples of all provinces
of Pakistan and unrestricted freedom for the development of
their cultures and languages. The so-called North West
Frontier Province would be renamed as Pakhtunkhwa, according
to the aspirations of the people and resolutions of the
provincial assembly.
· No
discrimination of any kind based on race, creed or gender.
Every citizen of Pakistan shall have equal rights in the
political, economic and social fields. Every citizen shall
have the right to hold any public office and all
discriminatory laws shall be repealed. The essence of
security will be guaranteed among the religious and ethnic
minorities.
· Freedom
of association and of speech shall be guaranteed, as shall
the freedom of the Press.
· Full
provincial autonomy with the centre retaining control of
defense, foreign affairs, currency, (communications
and such other subjects which the federating units agree to.
· ANP
will emphasize the maintenance of law and order so as to
protect the security of citizens, which has been
considerably endangered of late.
· Defence
expenditure to be reduced to levels, which do not jeopardize
the economic and social welfare of the people. Moreover the
services of trained personnel of the armed forces like
doctors, teachers, engineers, skilled and semi-skilled
workers shall be utilized for productive purposes whenever
and wherever required and these services shall be performed
on a non-profit basis.
· Non-interference
in politics by the armed forces and by the civil bureaucracy
shall be guaranteed by appropriate legislative and
administrative measures.
· The
Federal Legislature shall continue to be bicameral as at
present, but the powers of the Senate shall be enhanced so
as to include initiation of money bills and approval of
higher appointments.
· Administrative
and judicial reforms shall be directed towards devising
systems which meet the requirements of a democratic society
but which also provide the citizen with security, speedy
justice and honest, efficient and impartial service.
· Federal
civil servants posted to the Province will be appointed with
the consent of the Provincial government. The Provincial
government will have complete control over all officials
serving in the Province. At the Centre, efforts will be
made to obtain for the Province its rightful share of
appointments at all levels.
· The
judiciary shall be separated from the executive except where
there is a requirement for executive magistrates to carry
out non-judicial functions. The judiciary shall have full
financial autonomy.
· Parallel
legal and quasi-legal systems will be abolished so as to
ensure a uniform, integrated judicial system in the country.
· Effective
laws shall be passed to prevent horse-trading and sale of
loyalties among the elected representatives of the people.
· (Federating units which wish to reorganize on the basis of cultural,
linguistic and geographical similarities shall be free to do
so).
· A
comprehensive package of economic, social and legal measures
will be proposed to protect the interests of working and
labor class.
· Efforts
shall be made to narrow the difference in salaries between
the highest and lowest paid government employees so as to
reach an optimal ratio of 5:1 and salaries shall be indexed
to the cost of living.ss
· Re-employment
of retired government servants shall, as a rule, not be
allowed. Where it is essential, in the public interest,
written reasons shall be given and these shall be
justiciable.
· Benefits,
subsidies and privileges granted to former rulers of States,
their dependents or other special classes of citizens shall
be abolished.
· The
elimination of bribery and corruption, black-marketing,
smuggling and other social evils shall be given the top-most
priority and a permanent, independent authority shall be
established to enforce accountability’.
· The
privacy of citizens in domestic matters and in
communications shall be ensured. Wire-tapping, censorship,
and entry into private premises without legal authority
shall be prohibited.
2.2. Socio-economic
The primary duty of the state is to provide a better life
for the people. Political rights and freedoms have to be
accompanied by advancement in the social and economic
spheres. Poverty, disease and illiteracy have to be
eliminated and social justice ensured. Towards these ends,
the ANP will pursue socio-economic policies along the
following lines:
Fiscal issues
· ANP
will ensure that the 1991 decision of the Council of Common
Interests in respect of hydel profits accruing to the
province is implemented in letter and spirit.
· New
oil and gas discoveries have been made in Pukhtunkhwa, so
new royalty rates will be negotiated to generate more
resources for the development of the Province. Gungari North
Western Gas Company, with its headquarters in Pakhtunkhwa,
shall be established on the lines of SSGPL and SNGPL.
· Provincial
resources were reduced, when the Federal Government took
away Cantonment property taxes from the province without
relieving it of the responsibility for provision of
infrastructure and services and the maintenance of law and
order. The federation will be urged to pay for these
services.
· The
federation abolished octroi taxes on the promise of
providing 2.5% of sales tax revenues to local governments.
The province thus lost its claim against sales tax. It will
therefore seek compensation under the new National Finance
Commission Award (NFC).
· Many
large organizations like the National Highway Authority, the
Civil Aviation Authority and others were taken out of the
purview of the National Economic Council. The result was
that equity in distribution of funds and projects cannot now
be maintained. ANP will seek the establishment of National
forums to ensure equity in this regard.
· The
ravages of the Afghan wars and the presence of Afghan
refugees for more than two decades have damaged the entire
Pukhtunkhwa’s natural resource base and infrastructure. ANP
will strive for additional resources to offset these
reverses.
Development Issues
Economic structure of the provincial economy
· ANP
will shift the emphasis from public sector development
towards a market approach and will involve the private
sector in the overall process of economic development of the
province. At the same time it will seek to ensure safety
nets for low income groups.
· ANP
will encourage and protect foreign investment and offer
special incentives in this regard.
· ANP
proposes that the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ)
concept should be implemented through provincial governments
so that maximum benefits remain in the provinces.
Agriculture
· Agriculture
accounts for 25% of the Pukhtunkhwa’s GDP. 47% of the
Provinces’ labor force is employed in this sector and 70% of
population subsists on agriculture. Hence, agricultural
development will be a top priority. Similar initiatives will
be made in other provinces, as well.
· Livestock
is a major contributor in this sector with 12% share of the
provincial GDP. ANP will give special attention to this
sector because of its large scale impact on poverty
reduction and growth.
· Poultry
farming has made positive gains in Hazara. Similarly, the
sale of dairy products and live animals for urban
consumption are an additional source of income for the
farmer. ANP will take measures to build on this strength.
· About
2.1 million hectares of pastureland is available throughout
Pukhtunkhwa to support livestock and farming, this potential
shall be exploited to the benefit of the farmers. The same
will be done in other provinces, as well.
· Vast
potential exists for diversification of agriculture into
high value cash crops like fruits, vegetables and flowers as
well as edible oil crops like olives. Incentives will be
given to grow these commercially.
· Major
reforms will be brought to develop forests because
Pukhtunkhwa has 40% of Pakistan’s forestry cover.
· Pukhtunkhwa
produces 49.8% of Pakistan’s maize and 71.9% of its tobacco.
Downstream industries based on these products will be
developed.
· ANP
shall take measures to Provincialize the excise duty on
tobacco.
Employment
· Failure
to provide meaningful employment is a major cause of
radicalization in Pakhtunkhwa. If youth are unable to find
jobs they lose hope and many drift towards drugs and
extremism. This cycle will be broken by providing employment
targets for each year. All projects and programs shall be
driven by this priority.
· Linked
with this approach shall be the reform of education system
so that skill development and vocational training starts at
an early stage.
· Special
attention will be paid to the problem of the educated
unemployed. Facilities like internship, placement bureaus
and advisory organizations will be provided to help them
find jobs. The projects of self-employment would also be
given priority.
Industrial development
· Large-scale
industrial development in the province has been minimal and
ANP will accelerate it. Investment will be promoted
especially in industries based on oil and gas, because of
recent discoveries in the province.
· Pukhtunkhwa
has only 4.5% of the country’s small and medium industry
which is a small percentage as compared to its population.
Corrective measures will be taken to ensure that the
province gets its rightful share of investment in this
sector.
· Large
scope exists in the extraction and polishing of marble,
gemstones, and mineral processing. ANP will encourage
investment in these industries.
· Special
emphasis will be laid on food processing industry so as to
increase the incomes of fruit and vegetable farmers.
Banking and investment
· ANP
believes that financial services can play a major role in
creating an infrastructure for growth in the province. New
instruments will be developed to assist improvement of
livelihoods through entrepreneurial development and special
micro-credit schemes.
· ANP
will pursue the allocation of a higher percentage of credit
to the province. The province contributes about 11% of the
total bank deposits, yet only 4% of the loans are disbursed
in Pukhtunkhwa. This inequity will be corrected.
Urban development
· ANP
will undertake urban renovation by investing in utilities,
modern communications, infrastructure, sewerage and waste
management, urban roads, mass transit system, cheap and
affordable housing.
Education
· The
State is obliged to provide free education up to primary
level and at affordable cost thereafter.
· ANP
will aim to allocate at least 6% of the GDP to education.
· ANP
will work to eliminate dual system of education that
protects and perpetuates class and feudal interests. It
will work for a single system which meets International
standards.
· ANP
will ensure that the medium of instruction at the elementary
level is in the mother tongue.
Health
· ANP
will strive to provide health facilities for all citizens.
In this respect various options including insurance schemes,
privatization etc. will be considered. ANP will aim to
allocate at least 6 percent of the GDP to health.
· Health
services will be decentralized to bring them to the door
step.
· ANP
will emphasize on child & mother care, provision of clean
drinking water and preventive
medicine.
Environment
· ANP
will lay special emphasis on the protection of environment.
Our wealth lies in our natural resources like forests,
rivers etc. Indiscriminate deforestation and pollution of
rivers will be strictly checked. Similarly, the problem of
air pollution and disposal of industrial waste will be
urgently addressed.
Regional trade
· ANP
believes the natural market for Pukhtunkhwa is Afghanistan &
the Central Asian Republics. Every measure will be taken to
increase bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade links with them.
· ANP
welcomes the concept of the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones
(ROZ) and hopes for its early implementation as it will
promote regional trade.
Hydel generation & Irrigation
· ANP
will pursue the development of irrigation projects at the
federal and provincial level to utilize about 2 MAF of water
that is still available to it for development.
· ANP
will continue to oppose projects which do not bring any
economic benefit to the people of the province and which
endanger the livelihoods, their lands and their environment.
· ANP
will strive to make Power a provincial subject as it had
been in the pre one unit period.
· Power
is sold by WAPDA at a price, which is substantially higher
than the cost of production. This vitiates the comparative
advantage of the province, which is a major producer of
hydel power. The distribution of electricity should remain
with the Province.
· ANP
will encourage investment in small run of the river hydel
projects.
2.3 Women’s Rights and Empowerment
Pakistani women are trapped in a web of dependency and
subordination due to their low social, economic, and
political status. The majority of women suffer from all
forms of poverty, discrimination and violence. There are
inherent structural impediments that prevent and discourage
women from participating in the decision making process and
this perpetuates their disadvantaged status. Although
Pakistan has made commitments at the National and
International levels to ensure women’s rights, there is a
wide gap between commitment and implementation.
The ANP is committed to gender equality. In light of its
vision, constitution and policies, the party will work
towards ensuring women’s rights and empowerment through the
following:
Women’s Participation in Decision-making
The Party will strive for the following:
· Repeal
all discriminatory laws and policies that infringe on the
equal rights of women and their participation in decision
making within the family, community and society.
· Promulgate
legislation on domestic violence, honor killings, and
trafficking of women, sexual harassment and assault.
· Comply
with existing international conventions/instruments ratified
by Pakistan addressing violence against women and ratify the
Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and other relevant instruments relating to
trafficking of women and children and violence against
women.
· Ensure
a minimum of 33% quota for women at all levels of political,
policy and decision-making positions and provide meaningful
and necessary technical and financial support to enable them
to participate.
· Ensure
direct elections for women in all elected positions
including reserved seats/quota, as the party believes that
there is no substitute for direct elections.
· Ensure
that no Laws, Regulations, Policy and Code of conduct
prescribed and adopted by the state exclude and/or
discriminate against women.
· Review
and revise identification policies to ensure that citizens
are identified by parentage and not spouse so that their
national identity cards do not change with a change in
marital status. Remove the need for a male guardian for
adult women when applying for National Identity Cards.
· Awareness
will be created about the importance of gender equality
through education and media.
· ANP
will work for improving access to employment opportunities
for women at all levels.
EXTERNAL
AFFAIRS
Pakistan owes its importance in the world to a number of
factors, not all of its own making. Its geo-strategic
location is often cited as a primary one, but in fact, it is
a mixed blessing. Pakistan borders on four countries, each
of which has played or continues to pay a major part in
international affairs. These countries are China, India,
Iran and Afghanistan. Pakistan’s proximity to these States
makes it a useful tool for powerful countries to exploit for
their own global interests and, while this can be turned to
advantage, it can also pose a threat to the country’s
independence and freedom of action. In addition, Pakistan
is the only nuclear power in the Islamic world. Given the
present tensions in the world, this nuclear capability can
present a grave threat to the country’s security rather than
guarantee that security, which was the reason for going
nuclear in the first place. The country’s foreign policy
has, therefore, to be finely adjusted to guard against these
dangers while, at the same time, it must serve to further
the national interest in terms of economic and commercial
progress. Keeping this in view, ANP will work for a Foreign
Policy which contains the following elements:
· Friendly
and peaceful relations with all countries, particularly with
neighbours.
· Compliance
with the Charter of the United Nations and full
participation in all its developmental and peace-keeping
activities. Similarly Pakistan should take part in the work
of other international organizations of which it is a
member. In particular, it should actively engage in
international efforts to promote an equitable international
order. It should also support international moves for arms
reduction and abolition of nuclear weapons on a universal
and non discriminatory basis.
· Promotion
of the concept of a multi polar world which would avoid
universal domination by one or two major powers.
· Use
of diplomacy as a tool for promoting the country’s economic
and trade interests, diversifying its market and attracting
foreign investment.
· Special
attention to be paid to relations with Afghanistan. In view
of the commonalities in culture, faith, language and history
between people of Pukhtunkhwa and those of Afghanistan,
determined efforts shall be made to promote cooperation in
every field including economic, commercial, educational and
cultural. Bilateral relations shall be conducted strictly
on the basis of sovereign equality and non interference in
each other’s internal affairs.
· Similarly,
establishment of peaceful, cooperative good neighbourly
relations with India will be given high priority. All
issues including Jammu and Kashmir would be solved through
peaceful negotiations and open dialogue shall become the
hallmark of bilateral relations.
· The
traditional close relations with China will be maintained
and further developed.
· Relations
with all countries will be governed by the principles of
sovereign equality and no outside pressure, whether overt or
covert, would be allowed to influence Pakistan’s policies
and actions, which would be based solely on the national
interest.
· Relations
with the United States will be cordial because Pakistan has
much to gain from this. These relations will be
characterized by dignity and self respect and must result in
mutual benefit.
· For
the same reasons, relations with the European Union will be
further developed.
· Pakistan
shall play a leading and constructive role in the
Organization of Islamic Conference, SAARC and ECO.
· Special
attention will be paid by our missions abroad to the
problems of expatriate Pakistanis, particularly in the Gulf
countries and Saudi Arabia where there are many Pukhtun
workers.
· Pakistan
will encourage the seeking of political solutions to
political problems rather than the use of force.
THE
FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED TRIBAL AREAS
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (FATA)
have an area of 27,000 square kilometers and a population of
about 4 million. This region is administered by the
President under Articles 246 and 247 of the Constitution.
Pakistani laws are not applicable, the jurisdiction of the
superior courts has not been extended and the inhabitants do
not enjoy fundamental rights as guaranteed by the
Constitution.
The tribes remain the victim of poverty and the lowest
social indices in the country. The literacy rate is only 17%
versus the national average of 45%. Female literacy is an
abject 3% versus 32% for the rest of the country.
The region has suffered the most serious dislocation due to
conditions in Afghanistan ever since 1979. Extremist
elements have sought refuge in parts of FATA and have,
unfortunately, succeeded in imposing themselves on the
tribes in certain areas. Development work has virtually
ceased, the administration has collapsed and the normal
method of mediation through the jirga is not being utilized
properly.
ANP proposes the following actions to reverse the present
dangerous trends.
Political changes
In order to finish the under-development and the violent
nightmare of the tribesmen the government should take an
early decision to merge these areas into Pukhtunkhwa under
special provisions, which will ensure that;
· The
Federal government will be urged to take an early decision
to merge these areas with Pukhtunkhwa. If necessary special
provisions will be made to ensure that the legal and
administrative changes introduced will take due account of
tribal traditions and culture.
· The
tribal areas will have seats in the provincial assembly and
the total number of seats will increase accordingly.
· As
an immediate measure the FCR will be amended to provide
human right protection as laid down in the Constitution.
Other provisions of the FCR will also be amended to permit
oversight by a special tribal bench of the Peshawar High
Court.
· The
Political Parties Act will be extended to FATA.
· Fully
empowered local bodies with some modifications should be
instituted for a meaningful participation of the tribesmen
in all their affairs.
Developmental reforms
ANP proposes the following measures for immediate
implementation if we wish to bring a peaceful and a positive
change in FATA.
· Since
there are no reliable statistics a detailed survey and
investigation of the development potential of the area is
essential.
· Pakistan
has agreed to participate in the creation of “Reconstruction
and Opportunity Zones” in Tribal areas, NWFP and
Afghanistan, which would be tied to market quotas. ANP will
work for its transparent and effective implementation.
· ANP
endorses the principles of development outlined in the
Sustainable Development Plan for FATA but proposes more
active implementation through empowerment of local
communities.
Generally speaking ANP will follow the same development
strategy for FATA as for the Province, though in some cases
FATA may require special treatment because of its abject
poverty and poor indices.
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