Divided we fall: QWP chief Aftab calls for Pukhtun unity

Hails recent visit of leaders to Afghanistan

PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Ahmad Sherpao has stressed unity is the need of the hour and his party would struggle to bring all Pukhtuns together on a single platform.

He was addressing a ceremony at Watan Kor on Sunday. The event was organised to welcome two new leaders - Malgari Doctoran Senior Vice President Sanaullah Bangash and National Youth Organisation central leader Qaisar Khan - into the party’s fold. QWP K-P President Sikandar Hayat Sherpao and other members of the party were also present.

Sherpao said the recent visit by Pukhtun leaders to Kabul has proved to be an icebreaker and will normalise bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.



“The impasse in bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan could hamper peace initiatives in the region,” said the QWP chief.

He added the mistrust between the two neighbouring countries must be eliminated and it is the responsibility of Pukhtun leadership to play a vital role in ending the deadlock.

He maintained that his party wanted improved relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. “K-P has suffered the most over the last three decades and it is time to double our efforts to usher peace into the region,”  he said.

Sherpao was also the part of the delegation that visited Kabul last week. He said Pukhtuns were peace-loving individuals and not terrorists. “They have been labelled as terrorists due to international conspiracy,” he added.

The QWP chief added leaders and workers of QWP were willing to render any sacrifice to help the region out of a chaotic situation imposed by other forces.

About reforms in Fata, he said the time was ripe to bring the tribal belt into the mainstream.

He added his party supported the resolution by Fata parliamentarians to merge the tribal belt with K-P. He believed the Pukhtun leadership was in a better position to understand and resolve the issues faced by the tribespeople.

Economic corridor

Sherpao believed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor could help revitalise militancy-hit areas of the province and the tribal belt.

He said this was the reason QWP always raised its voice to build the western route on a priority basis. “QWP will show strong resistance if the route is changed,”
he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th,  2015.