Crisis management: Sherpao takes a dig at federal, K-P govts

Says he blames authorities for miseries of displaced population.

ISLAMABAD:

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said on Thursday that the federal and provincial authorities are grossly mishandling the issue of North Waziristan’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) which is bound to have consequences in the future.

Talking to reporters at his residence, the QWP chief claimed that there were between 100,000 and 150,000 “unregistered” IDPs who fled to Orakzai, Hangu and other adjacent areas before the ongoing displacements triggered by military offensive launched this month.

He asked the federal and K-P governments to adopt a ‘national approach’ to the IDPs issue to avoid it from turning into another crisis.

Sherpao, whose party sits in opposition after breaking of its alliance with PTI-led government in K-P, plans to issue a white paper against the perceived misrule of Imran Khan’s party in the province.

He criticised Imran Khan for threatening to resign from assemblies and dissolve the K-P assembly.

“Imran is making K-P a scapegoat to cover up his party’s failure in meeting expectations of the people. If he has complaints about rigging in Punjab, why does he want to punish the people of K-P,” Sherpao asked.

He warned of imminent turmoil in Afghanistan if the two presidential candidates failed to reconcile. He recommended the US and other key players to form what he called a “national unity” government in Afghanistan to accommodate both contestants.

He added that further destabilisation in Afghanistan will have a serious impact on Pakistan.

Calls for new order

Sherpao also pointed out that there is a growing sense of deprivation in ’smaller provinces’ who feel that Punjab dominates the centre because of its numerical strength in the National Assembly.

He added there is a need to develop a new constitutional framework before the next general elections and safeguard the interests of the ‘smaller provinces’.

“People say democracy is under threat. There is no external threat to PML-N government, they have a threat of their own just like they had when they had two-thirds majority,” he said.  Sherpao believes the callous attitude of the government is a threat to the federation of Pakistan.


Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2014.