PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said on Saturday that conducting snap polls will not serve the best interests of the democratic process and the parliament should be allowed to complete its term until the next general elections.
He said this while addressing a public meeting at UC Katozai tehsil Shabqadar district Charsadda, after the inauguration of Sui gas supply scheme in the area.
Sherpao said that if the demand of holding early elections was met this time, it would open a Pandora Box that would allow political parties to raise similar demands in the future. Every election in the country would become controversial if politicians and leaders continued to throw tantrums over rigging allegations during polls, he added.
The QWP chairman maintained that such a trend would badly affect the government as no government would be able to fulfill its mandate, which would ultimately lead to political instability in the country and widespread misgovernance, adding that such demands should be discouraged and the democratic process should be allowed to continue.
Commenting on the delaying tactics adopted by national and provincial parties regarding the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Sherpao said that putting the issue on back-burner would further increase the growing sense of deprivation among the tribal people. He also said that the people of the FATA had given enormous sacrifices for the stability of the country and protection of the borders, but their sacrifices have been ignored by the federal government which intentionally deprived them of rewards for their services.
Furthermore, the QWP chairman said if the people of the FATA were considered as equal citizens of the country then it was wrong to deny them equal status in deciding the affairs of the country. As a first step towards reforms, the Frontier Crimes Regulation should be abolished in the agencies at the earliest which was nothing more than a black law for the tribal people, he added.
Sherpao also said that the KP-FATA merger had been demanded by the QWP from day one and the party would stand firmly with the tribal people over this important issue.
In respect to dengue epidemic, the QWP leader said that the KP government had failed to take timely steps for the control of dengue which had affected a large part of the population, especially those living in the suburbs of Peshawar. He said that the number of dengue patients was on the rise, but the provincial government instead of taking effective measures to prevent the disease, had asked the masses to wait for winters until the menace of dengue could be curbed in KP.
Talking about the importance of regional peace, Sherpao said that normalisation of Pakistan and Afghanistan relationship was vital for ensuring peace, stability and economic development in Pakistan, which would also serve the larger interests of the region as well. He said that Islamabad and Kabul should exercise extreme caution in their efforts to bring normalcy in bilateral relations between both the countries, while adding that all outstanding issues between the neighbouring countries should be resolved amicably.
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