Peshawar: The Awami National Party (ANP) has outrightly rejected the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mines and Minerals Act 2025 and announced a province-wide protest movement against it. Following a meeting of a special party committee formed to review the bill, ANP President Aimal Wali Khan held a significant press conference in which he declared the Act unacceptable and a direct threat to provincial autonomy.
Aimal Wali Khan emphasized that the Act aims to legitimize the illegal control of military institutions over the province’s mines and minerals. He claimed that what was previously an informal takeover is now being given a legal cover through this controversial legislation. He warned that this fight is not limited to the Mines and Minerals Act alone but is now part of a broader struggle to uphold the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which granted greater autonomy to provinces.
He described the Act as a blatant robbery of the nation’s resources in broad daylight and demanded its immediate withdrawal from the provincial assembly. He also criticized the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the Federal Minerals Wing, claiming they are being used to hand over the province’s resources to the military under the guise of investment and development.
Khan stressed that if the government does not roll back the legislation, ANP will escalate its movement and declare a political war against both the Act and the current government. He pointed out that this legislation explains the reasons behind suicide bombings targeting the party in the past, and the repeated electoral engineering in 2013, 2018, and 2024 that blocked ANP’s path to power.
He raised concerns over security dynamics in resource-rich areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly Waziristan, where locals are not allowed access while valuable pine nut orchards are guarded by security forces. He alleged that deliberate violence and displacement are used to gain control over natural resources in the region.
Referencing Bacha Khan’s speeches in the first legislative assembly, Aimal Wali reaffirmed ANP’s longstanding position on resource rights and provincial autonomy. He reiterated that ANP stands by the principles of nonviolence, democracy, and constitutionalism, and will never compromise on the rights of the Pashtun nation and future generations.
The party announced a comprehensive campaign plan to oppose the Act. This includes convening All Parties Conferences (APCs) at provincial and district levels, launching awareness campaigns in universities, colleges, and religious seminaries, and holding seminars, conferences, and debates across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in April and May. In June, protests will be held at the village council level, followed by demonstrations at the tehsil level in July, and at district headquarters in August. If the Act is not withdrawn, a major protest will be held in Peshawar in September at a location symbolic of military facilitation of the legislation.
ANP also declared its intention to mobilize in Sindh and Balochistan to raise awareness on similar issues and warned of a march to Islamabad in October if its demands are not addressed. The party stated that the rollback of the 18th Amendment would not be tolerated and that the movement would advance if serious attention is not paid to their grievances.
Aimal Wali gave a powerful message to the state, saying that Pashtuns are not asking for charity but for their rightful share. If the state continues to deny these rights, ANP is prepared to take a separate path. “Give us our rights or give us freedom,” he declared, identifying this as the movement’s core slogan.
He added that while ANP has made sacrifices for the country and ignored many injustices in the past, if the state continues to deprive Pashtuns of their basic livelihood, resistance is justified. He warned that the party is not afraid of martyrdom and will not allow the theft of its rights. If any harm comes to ANP workers during this movement, the state will be held responsible.
He concluded by asserting that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and the establishment are united against the rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He called upon all Pashtuns, regardless of political affiliation, to rise against the Act, describing it as an issue of the nation’s survival.
