The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, through the merger of various leftist and progressive political groups in Pakistan. Commonly known as the NAP, it was a major opposition party to Pakistani military regimes for much of the late 1950s and mid-1960s. In 1967 the party split into two factions, one in East Pakistan and another in West Pakistan. Led by Bhashani and other influential progressive leaders, NAP played an instrumental role in the secession of East Pakistan and the liberation of Bangladesh. After the death of Bhashani in 1976, the party lost much of its prominence on the Bangladeshi political scene. Many of its leaders became members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Today, the liberal and progressive faction within the BNP is led by former NAP leaders. After the 1971 war, the Pakistani faction of NAP became the principal opposition party to the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto-led government of the Pakistan People's Party. The NAP was banned after a relentless attack by the then Prime Minister Bhutto, who accused NAP leaders of treason and after a sham trial, the NAP was banned from Pakistani politics. The leaders of the NAP, including Khan Abdul Wali Khan, were only released during the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq. History The NAP was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan by 1957. The constituent parties in 1957 and their areas of influence were: The Bhashani-led faction which broke away from the Awami League Azad Pakistan Party a party led by Mian Iftikharuddin, Syed Kaswar Gardezi and Mahmud Ali Kasuri. Sindh Mahaz led by G. M. Syed and Sheikh Abdul Majid Sindhi. Sindh Hari Committee led by Haider Bakhsh Jatoi. Wrore Pukhtun (Pukhtun Brotherhood) a Balochistan-based party led by Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai and Hashim Khan Ghilzai. Usthman Gul (Awam Jamaat) of Balochistan led by Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, Gul Khan Nasir and Prince Karim Khan of Kalat (princely state). Khudai Khidmatgar from North-West Frontier Province led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Hakeem Mohammad Aslam Sanjari. Ghaffar Khan's son, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, also joined the party. Ganatantri Dal an East Bengali party led by Haji Mohammad Danesh of Dinajpur and Mahmud Ali of Sylhet. The party