National Democratic Party Formed
With the NAP leadership largely imprisoned, a new political party was formed on the wreckage of the NAP in 1976 by Sherbaz Khan Mazari. Named National Democratic Party (NDP), it was headed by Sherbaz Khan Mazari. The Hyderabad case was withdrawn after General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq imposed martial law in July 1977. Wali Khan left party affairs to Sher Baz Mazari after his release from jail in 1979. The party faced a split at that time between far left elements led by Khair Bakhsh Marri advocating outright separation and armed struggle and those advocating political struggle led by Sherbaz Khan Mazari. The split ended the alliance between Pashtun Nationalists and Baloch Nationalists that Wali Khan had formed in 1969 and led to the formation of the Pakistan National Party.
Sherbaz Khan Mazari led the NDP into joining the Movement for Restoration of Democracy. The alliance with former rivals the PPP did not go down well with Ghaffar Khan who encouraged by Governor Fazle Haq warned Ghaffar Khan of what would happen if the PPP returned to power.
This move led to a split between Mazari and Wali Khan which were aggravated after Wali Khan in a statement rejected the 1973 constitution and Wali Khan's election as NDP President.
The NDP was merged with other nationalist parties from Balochistan and Sindh in 1986 in Karachi to launch a new political party named Awami National Party with Wali Khan as its president and Rasul Bux Palejo as its general-secretary.
Read more about this topic: National Awami Party (Wali)
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