SWABI: Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Friday said there was no need to deploy the Pakistan Army’s personnel in polling stations during the provincial assembly elections in tribal districts.

“The presence of military personnel inside polling stations in tribal districts can influence the electoral process,” he told a public meeting here.

Mr Sherpao said his party had launched a campaign against the PTI government, which would end on July 25 with the marking of a black day.

He said the QWP had begun a movement to mobilise the people against the ruling PTI over its hollow policies and complete failure to deliver.

The QWP chief rejected both federal and KP budgets and complained that the massive taxes would further stress out the people badly hit by growing prices.

“This budget is in fact made by the IMF, so we reject it,” he said.

Mr Sherpao resented growing prices and said electricity and gas prices would further increase to the people’s misery.

He said the opposition should launch a joint struggle against the government.

“The government has failed to deliver the goods in the last one year.It has set wrong priorities and adopted wrong policies,” he said.

The QWP chief said despite barrowing large amounts from China, UAE and Saudi Arabia, the government won’t be able to improve economy.

He said the unprecedented devaluation of Pakistani rupee had exposed the failure of the government’s financial policies.

Mr Sherpao wondered if the International Monetary Fund dictated the government on fiscal matters, how economy and the people’s conditions would improve.

“Though the first tranche of IMF’s $6 billion bailout package hasn’t reached Pakistan yet, tough conditions for it have already begun biting,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2019