The Awami National Party (ANP), which emerged the single largest party, bagging 31 provincial assembly seats and ten seats of national assembly, will get the slot of chief minister NWFP after 60 years of struggle.
The nationalist party has also won two seats each in Sindh and Balochistan Assemblies. Some independent candidates, won from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) have also close affiliation with ANP.
Both the ANP and PPPP have decided to form coalition government at the NWFP and center after a meeting of ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and PPPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad.
The PPPP has emerged the second largest party bagging 17 provincial assembly's seats in the NWFP while the MMA, which had swept the 2002 polls has clinched just eight seats in the NWFP assembly.
President ANP, Asfandyar Wali Khan is very much busy in Islamabad in these days and talking with various political parties and heads of foreign missions about formation of government at the NWFP and center.
This time the ANP, which has a long history for strengthening of democracy and parliament, was not only concentrating on Peshawar valley but the southern and northern parts of the province also and clinched a considerable numbers of seats in the entire province. Both the ANP and PPPP have a very long struggle and role for supremacy of parliament and democracy in the country and suffered a lot at the hands of all dictators.
"Our people have indeed opted for democracy and moderation. They have said no to religious extremism and violence," Asfandyar Wali told journalists soon after the February 18 polls results.
The ANP was in ruling coalition in the province in 1970, 1990 and 1997 with JUI, PML while it was partner of PPP in power in NWFP twice in 1988 and 1993. During its coalition with various political parties the ANP did not opt for chief minister's slot but had powerful ministries. Unfortunately none of the governments completed their full terms and were dismissed prematurely thus depriving the electorates from getting benefits from its party. This time the ANP is demanding the main slot of chief minister after a long struggle and re-emerging the single largest party in the province.
The Awami National Party has a long history in Pukhtoon's politics when its legendary leader and Khudai Khidmatgar Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan alias Baacha Khan formed the Khudai Khidmatgar Tehrik (Reformation Movement) to reform the Pukhtoon society by establishing a Madrassah-cum-school in his native town Utmanzai, Charsaddah in 1930.
The colleagues and followers of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who is also known as Sarhadi Gandhi also started struggle to get independence from the British Raj and gave unprecedented sacrifices for liberation of the country.
Abdul Jabbar Khan commonly known as Dr Khan Saheb (elder brother of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) was the first chief minister of Congress-led government in the NWFP before partition but the government was dissolved after independence of Pakistan and Khan Abdul Qayyum was installed as the chief minister.
The then National Awami Party (NAP) having in the fold legendary leaders like Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Abdus Samad Khan Achakzai (father of Mahmood Khan Achakzai), Atta Ullah Khan Mengal, Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri, Sardar Sherbaz Khan Mazari etc formed coalition governments with JUI in the NWFP and Balochistan after the 1970 general election and emerged the fourth largest party in national politics.
This time a lot of responsibilities lie on the shoulders of Asfandyar Wali Khan and Afrasiab Khattak, who struggled hard to bring the party to the mainstream politics, to fight for the rights of the province and remove the wrong impression of depicting Pukhtoons as the hard-liners and religious extremists.