‘Govt more concerned about democracy than country’

• QWP chief says PTI chief is worked up over ‘non-issues’
• Alleges state machinery was used for PTI’s ‘Azadi’ march

Vowing not to allow anybody to derail democracy, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Sunday said the federal government mishandled the affairs of the state, which has created a sense of deprivation among the people of smaller provinces.

Addressing a press conference, Sherpao said, “The federal government has turned a blind eye to the problems being faced by the residents of the smaller federating unit.”

He said the threat to the federation was more serious than democracy so the federal government should address the issues being confronted by the smaller provinces.

Sherpao said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was indulging in non-issues as he did not have the vision to find out solutions to the problems being faced by the Pakhtuns.

He said his party would soon convene a conference of Pakhtun leaders to seek solutions to their problems. “We will gather all stakeholders on a single platform to discuss the challenges being confronted by the Pakhtuns,” he said.

Opposing the rumors of dissolution of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, the QWP leader said the PTI-led provincial government had failed to provide any relief to the masses over the last one year. He said the PTI rulers could not improve the working of a single department and they were now looking for excuses to quit power.

He alleged that the PTI used state machinery for the ‘Azadi March’ and each minister was given Rs15 million to mobilise people for the long march. He said that KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak and his cabinet members misused their authority and wasted public funds.

Aftab Sherpao said the chief minister was dancing in Islamabad while the rainstorm killed around 15 people and injured over 60 in the provincial capital apart from damaging public property.

“The chief minister should have been in the provincial capital to monitor the efforts being made to provide relief to the internally displaced persons from North Waziristan,” he added.

He said KP had a lot of natural resources but there was a dire need to tap them for the benefit of people.