PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao has said that his party would resist any move intended to undo the 18th constitutional amendment.

He said this while addressing a public gathering in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday, where a known local political figure Hizbullah Gandapur announced joining QWP along with his supporters, says a press release issued in Peshawar. He said that the 18th amendment was a step towards the provincial autonomy and giving rights to the smaller federating units. However, he said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was yet to get its due rights.

Mr Sherpao said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been subjected to prolonged hours of power and gas outages for no fault of the people, but they were still expecting that the problems would be solved.

About the issues of internally displaced persons (IDPs), he said that the problems being faced by the dislocated families had faded into oblivion due to lack of coordination between the federal and provincial governments. He said that both the federal and provincial governments were not willing to shoulder their respective responsibility. “The issue of IDPs is not a political one so it should be addressed on humanitarian grounds,” he stressed. 

The QWP leader said that Pakhtuns had been abandoned that led to the deterioration of the law and order on their soil. He said that the PTI was promoting negativity and provoking its workers to resort to violence, adding that such kind of politics would not serve any interest of the nation.

“The PTI’s protest is aimed at seeking power and that too at the earliest. They are not bothered about the problems of Pakhtuns,” he said, adding that his party would have supported the PTI if it was raising voice for the rights of Pakhtuns. “We want to strengthen democracy and parliament,” he said and added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been lagging behind due to the ill-conceived policies of the incumbent provincial government.

Published in Dawn, November 24th , 2014