ISLAMABAD: Senior Vice President of Awami National Party (ANP) and
MNA Bushra Gohar Wednesday criticized handing over issue of renaming of
the Peshawar International Airport to a committee of the cabinet.
Talking
to Online, she said that such matters in the past were never decided by
a committee, then bringing the issue of renaming of Peshawar
International Airport to the federal cabinet and then forming a
committee is not understandable.
“I personally wrote to the
defense minister for renaming the airport and he was communicated
thrice that it should be renamed. Then the provincial assembly of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa approved a resolution that it should be renamed as
Bacha Khan International Airport,” she said.
The airport in
Islamabad was renamed as Benazir International Airport under the
decision taken by the government and it was not decided by any such
committee, the ANP leader pointed out. It is pertinent to mention that
the Federal Information Minister Ferdour Ashiq Awan in her interaction
with media men said Wednesday that the prime minister formed a
committee of the cabinet comprising Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar and
Railways Minister Ghualm Ahmad Bilour, ANP member in the cabinet, to
decide the matter of renaming of Peshawar International Airport.
Bushra
Gohar added that the Benazir International Airport is not the single
instance but there are several such examples that were not decided by
any committee.
To a question regarding consideration over
quitting the ruling coalition, she said that actually certain decision
of the government annoyed the ANP’s chapter in Sindh and the provincial
leadership of the party sought permission for quitting the ruling
alliance in the province only. “But we replied that the parliamentary
party has no power to decide such issues and the matter was referred to
the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of ANP,” the MNA said.
The
Vice President said that the CEC would meet after Asfandyar Wali Khan,
president ANP, would be available. She made it clear that so far
nothing was decided.
Regarding withdrawal of ANP from coalition
in the federal government, Bushra Gohar said, “No such thing was
discussed regarding the alliance with the government in Islamabad.”
She
said that the CEC would consider several issues but so far no one in
the party is able to predict as what would be final decisions. Online
