QWP polls: Sikandar Sherpao named new provincial chief

Vows to restore peace on Pukhtun soil .

PESHAWAR:

Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao was elected the provincial chairperson of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) on Wednesday during intra-party elections, while Bakht Baidar was elected the senior vice-chairperson and Hashim Babar the general secretary.

Addressing the provincial council meeting at the party’s secretariat, Watan Kor, newly-elected QWP Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao thanked the party workers for reposing confidence in him and said he would not let them down.



He added no effort would be spared to restore peace on Pukhtun soil. “We want to see an end to the bloodshed,” Sherpao added. The chairman asked the federal government to pay arrears of the net hydel profit to K-P.

Pointing out loopholes

At the event, QWP Central Chairperson Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao termed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan’s demand for the prime minister’s resignation ‘unconstitutional.’

Aftab Sherpao said the PTI leadership should wait for the next general elections instead of making unconstitutional demands. Governments cannot be changed by holding protests, he added.

Aftab Sherpao said the PTI-led provincial government has abandoned the internally displaced persons of North Waziristan Agency who have rendered sacrifices for bringing back peace in the country.

He further said kidnapping for ransom, extortion and target killings have become an order of the day, but the rulers are least bothered to protect the people. Investors are reluctant to invest in any sector in the province, owing to the fragile security situation, Aftab Sherpao added.

He claimed the popularity of the PTI leadership has declined due to the politics of sit-ins.

The leader warned his party workers would take to the streets if PTI leaders do not mend their ways. “We will show our strength if the provincial government doesn’t take steps to ensure good governance and deliver on the election pledges,” he vowed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2014.