DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Awami National Party (ANP) Central Spokesperson Engineer Ihsanullah Khan has strongly condemned what he described as “uncivilised and provocative” remarks and personal attacks by Senator Abid Sher Ali against ANP Central President Senator Aimal Wali Khan during a meeting of a Senate standing committee.
In a statement, he said Senate standing committees were important parliamentary forums established for serious deliberation on national issues, accountability and legislation. Turning them into platforms for personal attacks, political ridicule and abusive language undermined the dignity of the parliamentary system.
Mr Khan said political disagreement was a democratic right of every member, but “abusive language and character assassination cannot be justified in the name of political differences.”
He said Senator Aimal Wali Khan represented a political tradition that had opposed British colonial rule through non-violence under the leadership of Bacha Khan and had endured imprisonment and political persecution. He said the political leadership that followed, from Khan Abdul Wali Khan to Asfandyar Wali Khan, had continued the struggle for democracy, federalism, constitutional supremacy, provincial autonomy and the rights of oppressed nationalities.
“Political differences with this history are legitimate, but it cannot be erased through abusive language,” he said.
The ANP spokesperson said the party should not be mistaken for weakness because of its preference for political civility.
“We know how to respond to political differences with arguments, history and democratic language, but we will not remain silent when our leaders and political elders are insulted,” he said.
Mr Khan called upon the Senate chairman and the relevant standing committee to take notice of the alleged unparliamentary conduct and ensure that Senator Abid Sher Ali offered an unconditional apology. He said the dignity of Parliament could only be protected when its members themselves respected parliamentary decorum and democratic boundaries.
