QWP warns against undoing 18th Amendment

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao on Saturday warned the government against undoing the 18th Constitutional Amendment. 

He was speaking at the condolence reference for party leader Asad Afridi Advocate. Paying tributes to the late party leader, Sherpao said the deceased had rendered services for the cause of Pakhtuns.

He said the QWP had lost a committed leader who had a deep understanding of the geopolitical situation of the region and had worked for the welfare of the poor.

Commenting on the challenges facing the province, Sherpao said a conspiracy was being hatched against provincial autonomy. “We will foil the conspiracy against the 18th Amendment,” he said. 

He noted that the 1973 Constitution guaranteed provincial autonomy. He said a conspiracy was also being hatched against the National Finance Commission Award, which was against the spirit of the Constitution.

He added that a hybrid regime had been imposed on the country after the 2018 general elections and that a hybrid plus government had now been brought in as a result of the 2024 polls. He said experiments with the political system should be stopped so that democracy could thrive in the country and that all state institutions must function within their constitutional ambit.

Criticizing the provincial government, he said irregularities had been committed in the wheat procurement process which belied the K-P government’s claims about fighting corruption and ensuring good governance. 

He further said the provincial government had committed an injustice with farmers by not purchasing wheat from them.