PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said Friday that the sudden somersault of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over the issue of delimitation of constituencies, which has led to an increase in the strength of the National Assembly, had exposed the credentials of the PPP.
He said this while addressing a public gathering at Bahadar Kalay Peshawar, where Malang Jan, a key political figure, along with members of his family and supporters, announced to join QWP. Malanag Jan and his supporters showed confidence in the leadership of Aftab Sherpao and QWP’s provincial Chairman Sikandar Khan Sherpao.
Speaking on the occasion, Sherpao said that the U-turn of PPP was not in the best interests of the smaller provinces as it would further aggravate their sense of deprivation.
He said that if things went per demands of the PPP, including holding of elections on the basis of the 1998 census delimitation, it would undermine the struggle of the political parties for ensuring that a fresh census was held and the numbers documented at the earliest. He said that such demands would jeopardise the timely holding of polls.
He said that according to the new census results, the constituencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan had been increased, and any constitutional or legal battle over the matter could deprive the masses of the smaller provinces from their legal rights.
He further said that democracy was vital for national development and prosperity, and urged the stakeholders concerned to make the democratic system better to address the problems of the masses.
Aftab Sherpao expressed concern over the census results of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) saying that the population of FATA had been shown to have decreased under a designed conspiracy in the fresh count, adding that it would deprive the tribal region of their rightful share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. We believe that the merger of FATA with KP was likely to end the sufferings of the tribal people and ensure them all fundamental rights, he said.
Sherpao urged the federal government to revise its foreign policy, adding it should be revisited in the best national interests. He said that the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially the Pukhtun nation on the both sides of the border, had been adversely affected in the war against terrorism.
He also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan for neglecting the province while continuing to raise slogans of change. He said that Imran Khan was not taking interest in resolving the serious problems of KP as his policies were solely focused on Punjab.
He further said that during the ongoing tenure of the provincial government, no real progress had been made in the province, adding that the PTI had only started developmental work as a public stunt for the coming general elections, which was equivalent to fooling the masses. He also said that the countdown for the exposure of the PTI’s hollow claims of change had begun and the people of KP would vote Imran Khan’s party out in the next general elections.
Moreover, Sherpao said that KP faced serious financial and administrative crises, but the provincial government still felt the need to spend millions of rupees on a media campaign to highlight it’s so called achievements. He said that the people were joining the QWP in droves because they have now realised that only QWP could serve them well.
He said that some political parties of the country were threatening national security for their own interests. He also said that due to Panama Papers case and other important issues, including the merger of FATA, were put on the backburner by the federal government. This is a great injustice to the people of the region, he concluded.