PESHAWAR: The Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) has voiced concern about the prevailing uncertainty in the merged tribal districts and asked authorities to take steps to ensure a peaceful environment for holding the elections.
QWP chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao told a public meeting in Hayatabad area here on Saturday that the government didn’t fulfil its commitment to providing promised funds to tribal districts to mitigate the misery of the residents.
“Even basic facilities of life aren’t available to people in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas, so there’s growing unrest in them,” he said.
Mr Sherpao asked the government to address the plight of tribal people and release the promised funds for the execution of development projects.
He criticised former prime minister Imran Khan for “creating hurdles” to his trial in court cases and said the PTI chief used to talk about the rule of law but his conduct had proved that he didn’t practice what he preached.
Criticises govt over failure to provide promised funds to tribal districts
About Mr Imran’s willingness to hold talks with authorities, the QWP chief wondered how the government could trust the PTI leader, who used to call the current rulers “thieves” and say he won’t talk to them.
He said talks could be held in an environment of trust and mutual respect and that could be ensured by Mr Imran.
Mr Sherpao said it was ironic that the country was an agricultural country but still it had wheat flour and sugar in short supply.
He, however, blamed the flour crisis on mismanagement, black marketing and hoarding.
The QWP leader urged authorities to take steps to ensure transparency in the distribution of wheat flour and other essential commodities to provide relief to the common man.
He warned if the prices of essential goods were not controlled immediately, the people would suffer from serious financial problems during the imminent fasting month of Ramazan.
Mr Sherpao urged the government to take proactive steps to provide relief to the have-nots during Ramazan by controlling prices.
He said the skyrocketing inflation had made life miserable for the people, who were unable to feed and educate their children.
The QWP chief said the price hike had significantly reduced the purchasing power of the people.
He said the federal government should implement austerity measures in letter and spirit and reduce the size of the federal cabinet to overcome expenditure.
Mr Sherpao said the state institutions and bureaucracy should give up their perks and privileges to lessen the burden on national exchequer at a time when the country suffered from a cash crunch.
He said the government should complete the digital population census at the earliest.
The QWP chief said the mistakes committed during the last previous census should be rectified to address the grievances of the people, especially from smaller provinces.
On the occasion, activists of different political parties announced the joining of the QWP along with their family members and supporters and reposed confidence in the leadership of Mr Sherpao. Former nazim Haji Masood Khattak was among them.
Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2023
