MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Pakistan
Index
The Awami National Party (awami means
"people's"),
which depends on Pakhtuns of the North-West Frontier
Province and
northern Balochistan as its political base, won six seats
in the
National Assembly in the 1990 elections. In the 1993
national
elections, the party won three seats in the National
Assembly.
The Awami National Party was formed in 1986 by the merger
of
several left-leaning parties including the Awami Tehrik
and the
National Democratic Party. Khan Abdul Wali Khan was
appointed its
first president. Wali Khan's political career had been
built on
the tradition of intense Pakhtun nationalism inherited
from his
father, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Both men were opposed to
the
creation of Pakistan, and after partition they were
imprisoned.
In 1956 Wali Khan joined the National Awami Party (NAP),
led by a
charismatic Bengali socialist, Maulana Bhashani. In 1965
the NAP
split into two factions, with Wali Khan becoming president
of the
pro-Moscow faction. In 1972 the party was strong enough to
form
coalition provincial governments, with its partner the
Jamiat-ul-
Ulama-i-Islam (JUI) in the North-West Frontier Province
and
Balochistan. These governments were short lived. Wali Khan
was
again jailed, and his party was barred from politics when
the
Supreme Court upheld the finding of Bhutto that the NAP
was
conspiring against the state of Pakistan. General Zia
subsequently withdrew the charges against the NAP. Wali
Khan was
released, joined the National Democratic Party, and
ultimately
formed the Awami National Party.
Data as of April 1994
|
|