Winning a mandate: Imran should wait for his turn, says Sherpao

Says PTI chairperson used K-P as a launching pad but did not fulfil promises.

SWABI:

Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said Imran Khan should know one can only reach the helm of public affairs through a public mandate. He should wait for four more years to earn the right, said Sherpao on Sunday.

Sherpao was addressing a party workers’ convention on Sunday. “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) used Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) as a launching pad and did not fulfil the promises it made to the people of the province.”

Lashing out at the PTI government, he said, “It is the misfortune of our people that they chose a party which is only interested in sit-ins and started protests—oblivious of its failure in the province.” Imran Khan wants to make Naya Pakistan while 1.5 million displaced people continue to lead helpless lives under his party’s rule, he added.



According to Sherpao, the rest of the country is unaware of PTI’s shortcomings in K-P because the media does not report them. Polio cases, extortion, target killing and abductions are rampant, he added. Sherpao maintained he does not support the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government but wants to strengthen democracy and the rule of law.

He urged the federal government to focus on the issues of Pukhtuns, especially the internally displaced persons. He appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to ensure their safe re-assimilation.

Sherpao reiterated K-P should be given its due share in the national finance commission (NFC) award. He said the province is producing most of the country’s electricity but still suffers from protracted power outages. He also demanded a census be conducted in K-P, as he believed the existing population count is inaccurate.

The party chief shared work on QWP’s organisational structure has been completed and intra-party polls will be conducted in December.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2014.