PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party is set to celebrate its fourth foundation day today (Oct 17) by holding a public meeting at Dalazak Chowk, where delegations of its workers from different provinces are scheduled to participate.

The party’s leadership has prepared a declaration about its top priorities for uplift of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to mobilise people for a vigorous campaign in order to get due share in natural resources from the federal government.

Till 2012 this party was known as Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao. However, it was renamed when some senior leaders belonging to other political parties, mainly the nationalist Awami National Party, hailing from different districts joined it as they wanted it to focus on solution of the issues being faced by the local population.

Party to celebrate foundation day today

A core committee of the party also changed the constitution and colour of the party flag. The party’s organizational structure is also different from rest of the political parties, as it has not established a separate women wing and has adjusted female activists in the mainstream to share views in meetings of the mother party. Thus it has appointed provincial minister Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli as party’s central general secretary.

In 2008 general elections, the former PPP-Sherpao had got six provincial assembly seats while in 2013 QWP managed to clinch 10 seats in the KP Assembly.

In a brief chat with this correspondent, party’s provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao said that they were making efforts to make QWP as the sole leading nationalist party of the province.

“We have increased our seats in the KP Assembly and the situation is fast changing in favour of our party in different parts of the province, particularly in southern districts,” he claimed and said that votes of the party had also increased manifold in various constituencies.

He said that QWP would concentrate on core issues like Pak-Afghan relations, merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, holding of national census and to achieve due share of KP in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

“These are the main areas directly related to the future of the people and soil of this province. We will not bargain nor let anyone strike bargain on the rights of the province,” said Sikandar Sherpao.

About the organisational matters, party’s provincial secretary information Tariq Khan said that separate women wing was an outdated concept as women deserved to raise voice for their rights at a proper forum. “We have established the party’s organisations in all the provinces having active office-bearers,” he said.

Published in Dawn October 17th, 2016