Did Wali yield to militants?

PESHAWAR, October 06 (Internews): Some of his own party members and many others in the North West Frontier Province are not convinced that ruling secularist Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali did the right thing when he opted to fly to Islamabad in a helicopter provided by the government minutes after the suicide bombing targeting him in Charsadda last week.

The issue has come under discussion at gatherings. ANP workers too have been expressing their opinion about it and many among them felt their party head should have stayed in Charsadda or Peshawar to send a strong message that the suicide bombers and their sponsors couldn’t intimidate him.

They believed Wali’s hasty departure for Islamabad along with members of his family in the helicopter amounted to succumbing to the pressure being exerted by the militants and abandoning party members and supporters.

The message that went out after Wail’s helicopter flight to Islamabad was that it was no longer safe to stay in NWFP. If someone like the ANP president, who obviously was well-protected by his party’s provincial government and also his own bodyguards and party loyalists, found it unsafe to stay in the province, then nobody else would feel safe.

“Leaders have to lead by example. Obviously, they shouldn’t put themselves to unnecessary risk but they must live among their people and share their sufferings,” says political analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai.

It is, however, learnt that Wali was reluctant to fly off to Islamabad. But some of his party leaders and civil and police officers wanted him to go in view of intelligence reports that more than one suicide bomber had been tasked to target him. President Asif Zardari was said to have arranged the helicopter to fly him to the federal capital.

It was obvious since quite some time that the militants were determined to eliminate top ANP leaders. There were reports that suicide bombers had been tasked to target Wali and other important party officials. This was the reason that the ANP leaders had curtailed their public appearances and updated their security.

Wali spent most of his time away from the NWFP party leaders and those serving as ministers also became selective in attending public events and avoided travelling to places when Taliban militants held sway. All ANP lawmakers from Swat shifted to Peshawar to avoid harm.

This is the second time in Charsadda that suicide bombers at tacked an ANP gathering. Earlier, the party’s provincial president Afrasiab Khattak survived an attack during the election campaign. That attack left a number of party workers and supporters dead.

Analysts say it is obvious that suicide bombers have been waiting for an opportune time to target Wali. The opportunity came during Eid-ul-Fitr when the ANP president was present at his family home, Wali Bagh, to accept Eid greetings from party activists.

Wali was lucky to have survived the bombing and to have a loyal servant like Yar Zameen. As a true bodyguard, Zameen sacrificed his life by pouncing on the suicide bomber to ensure that he doesn’t reach Wali.

^{« »}