ANP asks govt to mark the day at official level
PESHAWAR: On the fourth death anniversary of former provincial senior minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour here on Thursday, the Awami National Party (ANP) asked the government to observe the event at the official level. The ANP arranged a gathering to mark the day and pay homage to its late leader who lost his life in a terrorist attack in Peshawar four years ago.
The gathering was addressed by elder brother of the deceased and ANP senior vice-president Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, the party’s central secretary general Mian Iftikhar Hussain, provincial president Ameer Haider Hoti and general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak. Haroon Bashir Bilour, the son of the late ANP leader, also spoke on the occasion.
Some disturbance was created at the start of the function when certain participants scuffled with one another. However, the party leaders present on the stage effectively controlled the situation and discipline was maintained during the rest of the proceedings.
The speakers paid rich tributes to Bashir Bilour and praised his political services and for making the supreme sacrifice of his life for peace in the country and the region.
Speaking on the occasion, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the ANP would celebrate the death anniversary of Bashir Bilour as a national day after coming into power. He claimed Bashir Bilour was the greatest son of the soil who laid his life to stop bloodshed of the Pakhtuns and restore peace in the country.
He said the ANP was a party of martyrs and its leaders and workers would continue to sacrifice their lives for their motherland.
“The enemies of Pakhtuns would run short of the bullets, but we would not hesitate from rendering sacrifices for our people and our homeland. We have kept our ideology alive with our blood,” he declared.
Former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti said the Pakhtuns were fortunate that they have leaders like Bashir Bilour who laid their lives for restoration of peace on their soil. He said Bashir Bilour was a great leader whose bravery and courage was matchless. “Bashir Bilour proved that he was a true follower of Bacha Khan. Great leaders like Bashir Bilour should be remembered in a respectful manner as he was a strong voice against terrorism,” he stressed.
He opined that Bashir Bilour was a great asset of the ANP and he would remain alive in the heart of every leader and member of the party.
Coming down hard on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Haider Hoti said that people of the province repented voting for the PTI in the 2013 election. He claimed the PTI would die its own death in the 2018 general elections.
Quran Khwani was also held in Peshawar for Bashir Bilour on his death anniversary and he was remembered in party meetings organized elsewhere in the province.
