QWP commemorates Hayat’s anniversary

Rifaqat Ullah Razarwal

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Thursday expressed concern over the increasing sense of deprivation among the Pakhtuns and said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had failed to safeguard the interests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This he claimed while addressing party workers and added that “We will not rest until the deprivations of the Pakhtuns are removed,” he vowed while addressing a well-attended gathering at Sherpao village in Charsadda district to mark the 46th death anniversary of his elder brother Shaheed Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao.

A large number of QWP workers wearing party caps and holding party flags showed up at the event. They also chanted slogans eulogising the services of the martyred leader. QWP provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao and other party leaders were also present on the occasion.

Paying rich tributes to the martyred leader, Aftab Sherpao recalled that he had always raised voice for the rights of the oppressed people and worked for their wellbeing throughout his life. “Shaheed Hayat Mohammad Khan had entered politics as a challenger to the forces of the status quo. He inspired political consciousness in Pakhtuns and played a leading role in their socioeconomic development,” he recalled.

He maintained that the policymakers should also look into the miseries of the Pakhtuns and devise such policies to mitigate sufferings of the Pakhtuns as they rendered matchless sacrifices for the restoration of peace. Criticizing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for its flawed policies, the QWP supremo said his party wanted true democracy to take root instead of the controlled one, which has stifled the growth of the democratic institutions.

Reiterating the demand for holding a free and fair election, Aftab Sherpao said the selected rulers did not have the ability to deliver as it was evident from their two and a half years rule. “It is surprising that no uplift projects are being executed, but the debt burden of the country is piling up,” he added.

He asked the powers that be to stop experimenting with the system and allow the people to choose their true representatives. He said that the ones, who had claimed to establish a state on the Madina State model, subjected the protesting government employees, seeking pay raise, to arrests. He said the QWP extended full support to the protesting employees and backed their lawful demands.

Aftab Sherpao asked the government to implement the Fata reforms in letter and spirit and honour the pledges made to the residents of the tribal areas at the time of merger. He demanded the government to release the three percent funds from the National Finance Commission Award and the Rs100 billion to be given to the merged districts annually for 10 years. He expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the merged districts and urged the government to take corrective stops or else the situation could spin out of control.

The QWP leader said his party had played its role in introducing the 18th Constitutional Amendment and warned the government against reversing this landslide legislation. He also flayed the government for the non-release of the arrears of the net hydel profit and royalty of the gas and oil. He said inflation had made life miserable for the people. He added that the prices of a 20kg bag of wheat flour was raised from Rs700 to Rs1400, sugar from Rs55 per kilo to Rs110 per kilo while ghee prices registered an increase of 120 to 300 rupees per kilo.

Aftab Sherpao said though the government had announced health and education emergency, patients died from lack of oxygen supply at a hospital in Peshawar while students were collecting donations for the University of Peshawar. “This is the most incompetent government that country has ever seen,” he remarked.

On Afghanistan, he said, the ongoing talks should be taken to its logical conclusion and this opportunity must not be missed to bring peace to the war-hit country or else Pakistan would suffer from the spillover of violence.