Mineral remarks: Aimal tenders apology | The Express Tribune

PESHAWAR:

Awami National Party (ANP) chief Senator Aimal Wali on Wednesday took to the social media platform ‘X’ to explain that he had apologised to the prime minister after receiving clarification from him regarding the concerns he had raised in his Senate address.

In his post, Senator Aimal said the prime minister had invited him for a meeting following the speech. During their conversation, he added, he told the prime minister that he would apologise if he had been mistaken. “If I can criticise openly, I also have the courage to apologise if I make a mistake,” he wrote.

In his Senate speech, Senator Aimal had referred to a photograph circulating on social media showing Prime Minister Shehbaz, US President Donald Trump and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, who appeared to be holding an open briefcase containing minerals.

“It seemed that a deal for the trade of rare earth minerals was being proposed,” Aimal had said in a fiery speech in the upper house of parliament. “Under what agreement, which law, and which article of the Constitution? This is, sorry to say, not democracy,” he had remarked.

Meanwhile, Central Spokesperson Engineer Ihsanullah Khan said on Wednesday that the apology extended by party president Senator Aimal Wali Khan pertained only to the use of certain inappropriate words in his recent Senate speech.

In a statement, he clarified that Senator Aimal’s remarks on September 30 were not intended to disrespect any individual or institution, adding that his apology to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reflected a commitment to fostering democratic temperament and political civility.

The ANP spokesperson emphasised that the party chief had no intention of showing disrespect to anyone. “The apology extended pertained only to the use of certain inappropriate words, which is essential to nurturing a democratic temperament and a culture of political civility,” he reiterated.

He said Aimal’s remarks were an unequivocal affirmation of parliamentary supremacy and underlined that the ANP remained committed to strengthening the country’s political traditions while adhering to parliamentary and democratic principles.

The spokesperson added that the party had always stood as a defender of parliament’s authority. Aimal’s statement, he said, also clarified that the government would not overstep in matters related to minerals and natural resources, and that the constitutional rights of the provinces would be fully upheld.

“We are committed to protecting the rights of oppressed nationalities,” he said, adding that the party president had reaffirmed his resolve to continue raising his voice—within constitutional limits—against any excesses committed against the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.