Chairman Qaumi Watan Party, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao has said that the Federal Government has completely kept Khyber Pakhtunkwa out of the ambit of CPEC which would adversely affect the people. In a statement issued here on Sunday, he regretted that the grievances of the KP had not been addressed in 6th Joint Committee for Co-operation (JCC) on CPEC in China.
The QWP chief said that three vital projects had been approved for Sindh such as Karachi Circular Railways, Keti Bandar and Special Economic Zones and it had satisfied the Sindh government. However, he continued, the fate of KP in CPEC is not yet certain which has been causing embarrassment among Pakhtuns. Sherpao resented that the QWP had not been taken into confidence on the outcome of the JCC which created serious misgivings about it.
Sherpao said that the QWP was sole voice for the rights of Pakhtun and it would fight for their rights at every forum. He added that it would not Pakhtuns in lurch.
The QWP Chief said that CPEC was vital for economic and social uplift of the region but unfortunately the rulers had deprived Pakhtuns of its benefits which would increase their sense of deprivation.
He said that CPEC was a fate changer in the region and the federation could positively prosper but the slip-shod attitude of the federal government kept Pakhtuns out of its beneficial purview. He called for the establishment of Economic Zones in KP and replacement of the faulty distribution and transmission electricity lines in KP so as the pace of development could be accelerated in the province.
He said that Pakhtuns were the second largest population of country and they had rendered meritorious sacrifices for the country. But, he resented, they have not been compensated and rehabilitated accordingly which is sheer injustice. He vowed that the QWP would vehemently struggle for redressing grievances of Pakhtuns so that they could play vital role in mainstream.