Begging to differ: QWP chief says K-P’s people used as scapegoats

Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao says the poor economy of the province will suffer further.

PESHAWAR: Some political parties are using the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) as a launching pad for their future politics in Punjab, said Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Friday.

“Since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has taken over, no developmental work has been carried out in K-P,” said Sherpao while speaking at a news conference at the QWP Secretariat.

A number of Awami National Party workers from Charsadda joined QWP at the press conference, where Sherpao said that in collaboration with Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, QWP can best highlight and solve the issues of Pukhtuns in the province. He pointed out that the notice issued by Bakht Baidar Khan to Imran Khan over the former’s removal from the cabinet on corruption charges has so far not been replied to, nor has there been any proof presented against him.

Immediately after QWP broke out of the K-P coalition government, Sherpao in a news conference said he would not create any problems for the PTI-led government. He said QWP had participated in the all parties’ conference (APC), and had agreed that all issues could be solved through dialogue, but blocking Nato supplies was not on the APC agenda.

“We are against drone strikes too, but blocking the supply will directly affect relations with Nato countries and will certainly destroy the already poor economy of the province,” said Sherpao. He called upon international donors and humanitarian organisations to work and invest in the province, irrespective of the political situation. Sherpao alleged the current government is not addressing the problems of the people. He added the government always asks for foreign aid, but none of this ever comes back to the people.

“Our trade with other countries is already meagre; now the roadblocks are also affecting the Afghan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA),” said Sherpao, adding, “A huge protest was also held against the supply blockade in Afghanistan.”

“The popularity graph of PTI and its allies is extremely low in the province. The party that raised slogans of change has now brought the youth onto the roads in the form of mobs,” said the QWP chief. “This is a tactic to overlook the real issues faced by the people,” he claimed. “Rather than be provided job opportunities, the youth have been brought out to stop containers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2013.