PESHAWAR: The Qaumi Watan Party has announced to strongly oppose any plan of the provincial government regarding privatisation of Bank of Khyber.

“It is a conspiracy against the economy of the province,” QWP provincial chief Sikandar Khan Sherpao told a hurriedly called press conference here on Monday. He alleged that PTI chairman Imran Khan wanted to give BoK to some of his close friends but the opposition parties would not let the attempt to succeed.

“We are fully determined to safeguard the rights of our province at all costs. No one will be allowed to play with the lives, properties, honour and economy of the people,” he said.

Mr Sherpao, who is also parliamentary leader of his party in the provincial assembly, said that government would table a bill in the assembly for privatisation of BoK but the opposition parties would submit an adjournment motion against it in the next session of the assembly.

The QWP leader said that finance department and some economic experts at national level had raised reservations over the privatisation of the bank. The institution was generating sufficient revenues for the provincial exchequer and providing grants for development of various sectors in the province, he added.

“The plan has been supported by Imran Khan from Bani Gala as he wants to hand over the financial institution (BoK) to some of his blue-eyed people who own a private company in Punjab,” Mr Sherpao alleged. He said that a conspiracy was being hatched to deprive people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of economic development.

Flanked by QWP provincial information secretary Tariq Khan and Asad Khan Afridi, he said that federal government had also adopted step-motherly treatment with the province. He said that privatisation of BoK would push the province into financial crises.

The QWP leader said that opposition benches in the provincial assembly could take the matter to National Economic Council and Council of Common Interest for consideration as after passage of 18th Amendment a province had the right to raise voice for its rights at national level.

With the privatisation of BoK, Mr Sherpao said, at least 2,000 people would become jobless and it would create serious financial problems for them.

About the last five-year performance of BoK, he said that the institution had earned Rs10 billion profit and paid Rs2 billion to FBR as tax amount besides extending operations to other districts of the province.

Mr Sherpao further said that during floods in 2010, BoK was the only bank that provided soft and interest-free loans to the affected farmers, peasants, shopkeepers and traders in the flood-hit areas.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2015

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