PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Monday called upon the incumbent PDM-led coalition government to provide relief to the people in the face of skyrocketing inflation.
The government should inform the nation about the outcome of the talks it had been holding with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the QWP leader demanded, while addressing a well-attended gathering at Sherpao village in Charsadda district in connection with the 48th death anniversary of Shaheed Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao.
He vowed his party would continue raising its voice for the rights of the oppressed and the poor. The QWP leader said this year the gathering to mark the death anniversary of Hayat Sherpao was dedicated to all the victims of terrorism particularly the cops who were martyred in the police lines blast in Peshawar and elsewhere in the country.
A large number of QWP activists from all over the province participated in the gathering. Wearing the tri-color caps, they were holding party flags and chanting slogans in favor of the party leadership.
Commenting on the poor law and order and the recent wave of terrorism, the party leader said the Pakhtuns had suffered the most due to acts of terrorism; therefore the state should take steps to stop their bloodshed. He vowed his party would continue striving for the rights of the Pakhtuns.
Coming down hard on former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Sherpao said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was playing politics on the issue of terrorism and was least bothered about the sufferings of the people. He held the previous PTI government responsible for the prevailing security situation in KP. Sherpao said the Imran Khan-led party ruled the province for nine straight years, but failed to execute a single mega project and instead buried the province under a huge loan. He said KP’s debt soared from Rs97 billion to 979 billion during the rule of the PTI. He said the PTI provincial government had received Rs417 billion from the centre for the rehabilitation of the destroyed infrastructure due to terrorism. “The nation asks the PTI leadership, where was the money spent?” he asked.
The QWP leader said Imran Khan was now creating anarchy in the country to pave the way for his return to power. However, he said Imran Khan failed to deliver when he was in power and pushed the country to the brink of bankruptcy. “Imran Khan lacks the ability to deliver as he is totally incompetent,” he remarked. He said the Imran Khan government was imposed on the country under a conspiracy. Sherpao said Imran Khan was trying to divert the attention of the nation from his poor performance by building a so-called narrative of regime change.
He added Imran Khan kept changing his stance on every issue and took U-turns. Aftab Sherpao said the previous PTI government strained Pakistan’s relations with China, Saudi Arabia and the US. “Imran Khan is bent upon making the country go bankrupt for his political interests,” he said, adding that the ones, who had brought him to power, also regretted helping him.
The QWP leader said Imran Khan deceived the nation by claiming that he was establishing a state on the model of Riyasat-e-Madina. He said Imran Khan had no vision and was a pawn in a conspiracy.
Aftab Sherpao recalled the previous PTI provincial government did not raise voice for the rights of KP when Imran Khan was the prime minister. He said the corruption scandals of the PTI rulers had started emerging. Though the PTI leaders had claimed to fight corruption, they were involved in corrupt practices so they should be held accountable for it.
The QWP chief earlier paid rich tributes to late governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao, saying that the Shaheed leader always strived to help the poor get their due rights. “We are following in the footsteps of Shaheed Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao and will carry forward his mission.” He said that Hayat Sherpao was the first political martyr from the KP, who laid down his life while striving for the rights of the people from the downtrodden segments of the society.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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