Pak-Afghan ties: ‘We will have to go the extra mile to end impasse’

QWP chief calls for extensive electoral reforms across country.

PESHAWAR: After witnessing one breakthrough after another, the current deadlock in Pak-Afghan ties has raised eyebrows. At a time when foreign troops are pulling out of Afghanistan, a spate of attacks in Kabul followed by an orchestrated campaign against Pakistan weaves a tangled web of suspicion. To restore normalcy, Pakistan will have to walk the extra mile.

This was said by Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao during a press conference at Watan Kor in the city on Sunday.



According to Sherpao, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has faced considerable backlash after renewing ties with Pakistan. He urged China to continue playing the mediator between the two governments and the Taliban.

“Iran is also an important stakeholder and should be kept engaged in the entire process,” he said.

Sherpao said he mooted the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project during his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zarif.

The former federal interior minister held India responsible for sabotaging bilateral talks. About the election tribunal’s decision regarding NA-122, Lahore, Sherpao said the entire country needs electoral reforms on a large scale.

Talking points

Responding to a question regarding the Karachi operation, he said the action should conclude in a logical way so that the city is rid of anti-social elements for good.

“Shuja Khanzada would have been amongst us had the National Action Plan been implemented in letter and spirit.”

Sherpao threw his weight behind the demands to conduct local government elections in tribal areas. About the appointment of additional political agents as judicial officers, he said any decision not popular with the people of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas should not be enforced upon them.

Sherpao reiterated his view that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor should be constructed according to the originally agreed plan. He said Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa should be given maximum attention in terms of economic activity. “This will end the prevailing sense of deprivation amongst the people,” the QWP leader said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2015.