PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Friday reiterated the demand for the immediate merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and opposed any other plan for the tribal region’s future.

He said this while addressing a public meeting in Bhana Manri area here.

On the occasion, local politician Umar Daraz Khan announced that he had joined the QWP with family members and scores of supporters.

The QWP chairman regretted that the people of Fata had been denied basic rights.

Declares PTI govt incompetent

He wondered if all stakeholders and political parties favoured the Fata-KP merger, then what was the hurdle to it.

Mr Sherpao accused the federal government of not taking ‘durable and timely’ steps on the issue.

He lamented that the PTI-led provincial government had miserably failed to overcome the people’s problem and instead, it added to the people’s misery by starting untimely and unwisely development projects after wasting four and a half years in useless affairs.

“The provincial government and its leadership have proved their incompetence to a large extent,” he said.

The QWP chairman said the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transport project was part of the ruling PTI’s election campaign, which had stressed out the local residents through the frequent traffic mess.

He accused the PTI government of creating crisis after crisis in the province and said it had destroyed institutions in the name of reforms.

Mr Sherpao said the PTI had wasted the precious time of the people in the name of false promises to bring about change in their lives.

He said the delayed construction work with a zero framework had made the people’s lives miserable through traffic jams.

The QWP chairman expressed concern about the worsening law and order situation across the province and said the

recent increase in terrorist activities had worried the people about their life and protection.

He said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had rendered massive sacrifices in the war against terrorism but the government had yet to take concrete steps for their protection.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2017