QWP chief urges all parties to work for transparent polls
Slams PTI for creating illusion of change while things on the ground remain unchanged
Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Sherpao. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
With just over a month left in the elections, a major political party has called on all political parties to play their role in holding general elections transparently, noting that the peaceful transition of the political power was a good omen for the country.
This was stated by Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Sherpao during a news conference at Watan Kor in Peshawar the other day. On this occasion, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Malakand leader Amir Sohail, along with his family and scores of supporters announced to join QWP.
He said that transparent elections would be instrumental in bringing political stability to the country.
Sherpao termed political stability as influential for the country’s development.
He added that the state machinery should not be abused during the elections to maintain transparency while an environment should be created where people have confidence in the electoral process.
In this regard, he urged all political parties to accept the election results.
He criticised the failed policies of the PTI while governing the province. He added that an environment of fake change was created, especially on social media while there was nothing on the ground.
The QWP chief said that the real face of the PTI has been exposed and that the public will reject them through the power their votes in the upcoming elections.
He said that the PTI government, instead of fulfilling its electoral promises, had done nothing over the past five years. Instead, it had greatly disturbed the lives of the people through developmental projects which they could not even complete during their tenure.
Sherpao said that the provincial capital had been destroyed because development projects were launched with the idea of just winning an election and not for public welfare.
FATA merger
Discussing the merger of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the QWP chief said that it was historical and would open the doors to development and prosperity for the neglected tribal people.
Sherpao, though, urged the government make sure that the judicial and administrative setups are quickly set up in the former tribal areas.
After the KP-Fata merger, he said that it was necessary to pay immediate attention to the neglected areas and put them on the path of development. For this purpose, he demanded that substantial funds should be earmarked to change the lot of the locals so as to bring revolutionary changes in their socio-economic conditions.
He said that the federation and provinces should offer sacrifices for the cause of Fata in the larger national interest.
Sherpao regretted that the Pashtuns of the tribal belt had suffered immensely due to terrorism and extremism, but they had been ignored which increased their sense of deprivation.
Kalabagh Dam
Talking about the Kalabagh Dam, Sherpao said controversial issues such as the dam had been brought to the limelight whereas issues pertaining to the rights of Pashtuns have been pushed on to the backburner.
He said that the provincial assemblies of the smaller provinces have already passed resolutions against the controversial project, displaying a lack of national consensus on it and leading to its abandonment.
The QWP chief reiterated that the smaller provinces have serious reservations over the project because it was a matter of life and death for them.
“Kalabagh Dam is detrimental to the stability of the federation because the smaller provinces would never allow its creation at any cost,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2018.
With just over a month left in the elections, a major political party has called on all political parties to play their role in holding general elections transparently, noting that the peaceful transition of the political power was a good omen for the country.
This was stated by Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Sherpao during a news conference at Watan Kor in Peshawar the other day. On this occasion, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Malakand leader Amir Sohail, along with his family and scores of supporters announced to join QWP.
He said that transparent elections would be instrumental in bringing political stability to the country.
Sherpao termed political stability as influential for the country’s development.
He added that the state machinery should not be abused during the elections to maintain transparency while an environment should be created where people have confidence in the electoral process.
In this regard, he urged all political parties to accept the election results.
He criticised the failed policies of the PTI while governing the province. He added that an environment of fake change was created, especially on social media while there was nothing on the ground.
The QWP chief said that the real face of the PTI has been exposed and that the public will reject them through the power their votes in the upcoming elections.
He said that the PTI government, instead of fulfilling its electoral promises, had done nothing over the past five years. Instead, it had greatly disturbed the lives of the people through developmental projects which they could not even complete during their tenure.
Sherpao said that the provincial capital had been destroyed because development projects were launched with the idea of just winning an election and not for public welfare.
FATA merger
Discussing the merger of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the QWP chief said that it was historical and would open the doors to development and prosperity for the neglected tribal people.
Sherpao, though, urged the government make sure that the judicial and administrative setups are quickly set up in the former tribal areas.
After the KP-Fata merger, he said that it was necessary to pay immediate attention to the neglected areas and put them on the path of development. For this purpose, he demanded that substantial funds should be earmarked to change the lot of the locals so as to bring revolutionary changes in their socio-economic conditions.
He said that the federation and provinces should offer sacrifices for the cause of Fata in the larger national interest.
Sherpao regretted that the Pashtuns of the tribal belt had suffered immensely due to terrorism and extremism, but they had been ignored which increased their sense of deprivation.
Kalabagh Dam
Talking about the Kalabagh Dam, Sherpao said controversial issues such as the dam had been brought to the limelight whereas issues pertaining to the rights of Pashtuns have been pushed on to the backburner.
He said that the provincial assemblies of the smaller provinces have already passed resolutions against the controversial project, displaying a lack of national consensus on it and leading to its abandonment.
The QWP chief reiterated that the smaller provinces have serious reservations over the project because it was a matter of life and death for them.
“Kalabagh Dam is detrimental to the stability of the federation because the smaller provinces would never allow its creation at any cost,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2018.