CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday expressed satisfaction over the stance of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa regarding Fata-KP merger, saying it was a goodwill gesture that the Pakistan Army leadership favoured the merger.

He said this while addressing a public meeting after visiting various ongoing development schemes in Katozai Bela here. He said that the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would help to address the problems of tribal people.

Mr Sherpao welcomed the statement of army chief who favoured the Fata-KP merger and his suggestion that consensus of all stakeholders on the future status of Fata would be made as per the wishes of tribal people.

Sherpao urges parties to focus on upcoming general elections

“Tribal people have rendered great sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and the dividing line in the Pakhtun belt is affecting their unity. The people of Fata are equal citizens of the country, but unfortunately they are not treated equally,” the QWP chief said.

He demanded speedy process for the Fata-KP merger so that the people of tribal areas could be given representation in the provincial assembly. He said that general elections would ensure continuation of the democratic process and stability of the system.

The QWP chief regretted that consensus of the mainstream political parties had been ignored in the delimitation procedures, which would ultimately increase the agonies of masses. However, he said that all the stakeholders should concentrate on the smooth conduct of general election process.

Mr Sherpao alleged that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was involved in large-scale corruption while PTI chairman Imran Khan had been blaming other political parties for the menace.

He urged the National Accountability Bureau to investigate the charges of corruption against the PTI ministers to recover the looted wealth.

He said the real face of PTI stood exposed in the election of Senate chairman and deputy chairman where it sided with PPP for personal gains.

He said that the provincial government was incapable and inefficient “The chairmen of several institutions have issued charge-sheets against the KP government,” he claimed and added that when their own chief minister and some ministers were found involved in corrupt practices, the powers of those institutions were curtailed through legislation.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2018