Begum Naseem Wali Khan passes away

CHARSADDA: Former ANP Provincial President and widow of ANP founder President Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Begum Naseem Wali Khan has passed away after a prolonged illness here on Sunday.

She was 85. Her funeral prayers will be offered at 6.00 pm at Wali Bagh, Charsadda.

Begum Naseem Wali was a diabetic and a heart patient. Begum Naseem Wali Khan was the mother of Asfandyar Wali Khan. She was elected to the Provincial Assembly three times.

Due to her long political struggle and political services, Begum Naseem Wali Khan was declared as iron lady. Begum Naseem Wali, widow of ANP founder president Khan Abdul Wali Khan, has died at the age of 85.

Begum Naseem Wali Khan, widow of Awami National Party Founder President and Leader of Tehreek-e-Khan Abdul Wali Khan, was born on January 24, 1933 in Mardan Parhoti to Amir Muhammad Khan Hoti, grandfather of Amir Haider Khan Hoti, a prominent member of Khudai Khidmatgar Tehreek and former Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

She was the mother of Sangeen Wali Khan (late), and Dr Gulalai Wali Khan as well as step-mother of Asfandyar Wali Khan.

She was the second wife of Khan Abdul Wali Khan and they were married in 1954. She was one of the main leaders of the Pakistan National Alliance and made history in 1977 as the first woman elected from a Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province general seat in the 1977 election.

Begum Naseem Wali Khan entered the politics of Pakistan in 1975 when the leader of Tehreek-e-Khan Abdul Wali Khan was not only arrested by the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto but also his party, the National Awami Party, was also banned. She took control of the party at a time when the Hyderabad tribunal case created by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was leading the first and second ranks of the National Awami Party in jail and there was no one to fill the empty seat of politics.

She also took the political seat who not only fought this so-called case but also filled the vacuum of political leadership. Due to the efforts of Begum Naseem Wali Khan, the Hyderabad conspiracy case was dropped and on successful prosecution all the accused named in the case were honorably acquitted.

Begum Naseem Wali Khan, who entered politics at the critical juncture of the Hyderabad conspiracy case, refuted all the assumptions that only men in Pashtun society can lead in Pakistani politics.

She also founded the National Democratic Party at the same time for which the then imprisoned leaders Khan Abdul Wali Khan and Sardar Sherbaz Mazari were also consulted. Due to this movement, the captive leaders of the National Awami Party were released and workers across the country were organized. She also has the honor of being the first elected Member of Parliament of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 1977, Charsadda and Mardan were elected simultaneously to the National Assembly (NA-4 and NA constituencies). However, she did not take the oath of office as the NDP movement was in full swing at the time.

When the ANP was founded in 1986, Khan Abdul Wali Khan was elected Central President while Afzal Khan Lala was elected Provincial President. In 1994, she was elected President of the Awami National Party Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the first time. In 1998, she was re-elected provincial president.

She first contested the parliamentary elections from Charsadda PF-13 in 1988 and was elected a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. She was also elected a member of the Provincial Assembly from PF-13 in 1990 and PF-15 in 1993.

In 1997, PF-15 was elected a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly (then NWFP Assembly) from Charsadda. She has also been the provincial parliamentary leader of the Awami National Party four times. Begum Naseem Wali Khan was also the Leader of the opposition in the Provincial Assembly during 1990 and 1997.