PESHAWAR: Describing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government as the product of rigging, Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Sunday asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to stop pushing opposition parties to the wall otherwise he will be unable to develop consensus on any of the important national issues.

Speaking at a public meeting at Ring Road on the sixth foundation day of QWP, Mr Sherpao said that PTI had not won the election, but it was brought into power under a plan of ‘controlled democracy’ through ‘institutionalised’ rigging in the July 25 general elections.

He said that his party’s mandate was stolen in the general election and it was not the first time that such an attempt had been made to introduce ‘controlled democracy’ in the country and keep the people away from real leadership. He said that election observers of the European Union had also termed the electoral process non-transparent.

Mr Sherpao recalled that during Ayub Khan’s era basic democracy was introduced while in General Zia’s regime party-less elections were held to keep the political parties out of the democratic process. He said that now ‘selected democracy’ had been imposed under Imran Khan.

QWP chief claims PTI brought into power under a plan of ‘controlled democracy’

He said that slashing the share of smaller provinces in National Finance Commission award would weaken the federation. He warned that if 18th amendment was rolled back it would deepen the sense of deprivation among the provinces, particularly Pakhtuns.

“Keeping in view flawed policies of the incumbent government, it is bound to fail and the onus will be not only on PTI rulers, but also on those who have brought them into power,” he maintained.

Calling for a new social contract, he said that efforts should be made to end the despondency among Pakhtuns. He said that before general elections, the PTI leadership had claimed that they had solutions to all the problems facing the country, but now it had passed on the burden to people in the shape of price hike and joblessness.

Mr Sherpao recalled that PTI chief had claimed before the election that he would prefer to commit suicide to seeking financial assistance from International Monetary Fund (IMF), but now he was travelling from country to country with a begging bowl to seek loans. He demanded of the federal government to disclose the conditions attached to the financial assistance extended by Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.

Commenting on economic condition of the country, he said the government on the one hand talked about construction of five million houses, on the other it was collecting money for building dams. He asked that the government whether building dams was important or constructing five million houses.

He said it seemed that Imran Khan was still standing on a container as he had been using indecent language against his political rivals.

The QWP chief said that the defeat of PTI candidates in by-elections had vindicated their stance that the general election was rigged. He said that Pakhtun-inhabited areas had been witnessing violence for about four decades. He said that many Pakhtuns had been living as internally displaced persons under poor conditions. “It is responsibility of the state to provide relief and protection to the people,” he said.

Mr Sherpao urged the government to introduce reforms in the erstwhile FATA to expedite the merger process. He congratulated the Afghan government for holding parliamentary elections which, he said, were important for continuity of democratic process.

Party’s general secretary Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, provincial chairman Sikandar Sherpao and Hashim Babar also spoke on this occasion.

Published in Dawn, October 29th , 2018

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