PESHAWAR: The Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) has threatened to stage street protests and move the court of law against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mines and Minerals Bill, 2025.

“We will not allow anyone to plunder the resources of our province. The minerals bill is an attack on the 18th Constitutional Amendment, so we will resist it with full force,” QWP central chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao told a news conference at Watan Kor here on Friday.

Accompanied by former Senator Haji Ghufran Khan, provincial QWP chairman Sikandar Sherpao and leaders Tariq Ahmad Khan and Hashim Babar, Mr Sherpao said the proposed legislation was meant to depriving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of its mineral resources. He said that besides moving the court, his party would stage protests and would raise voice at all forums to force the government for withdrawal of the proposed law.

He claimed that some elements were out to capture the resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but the QWP would go to any extent to protest against the controversial bill.

Sherpao insists proposed law to deprive KP of its mineral resources

“Even leaders of the ruling PTI have started criticising the bill,” he said, flaying the bid by some PTI circles to link the bill’s approval to the release of PTI founder Imran Khan.

The QWP leader said the PTI government should focus on improving the poor law and order and protect the interests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said the law and order had worsened to the extent in the southern belt that even the government officials had restricted their movement, which was a charge-sheet against the PTI government. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was facing the worst kind of terrorism where two to three acts of subversion were taking place on a daily basis.

Mr Sherpao said the provincial government could not resolve the issue of the Kurram unrest over the last seven months. He said major roads leading to Kurram district were still closed and it had created a shortage of food, medicines and fuel.

Criticising the federal government for raising the petroleum levy, the QWP leader said that the rulers should have passed on the relief to the people, who were already facing skyrocketing inflation.

He slammed the federal government’s announcement that the funds from oil prices would be saved to build roads in Balochistan and said uplift work was carried out under the Public Sector Development Programme.

Mr Sherpao said proceeds from the petroleum levy did not go to the federal divisible pool rather it went to the treasury.

About the repatriation of Afghan families from Pakistan, he said Islamabad and Kabul along with the UNHCR should hold a meeting to come up with a mechanism for the smooth and respectful return of Afghans to their country.

The QWP chief said the federal and provincial governments were spending millions of rupees on useless advertisements, a practice that should come to an end without delay.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also not getting its due share of water under the Water Apportionment Accord, 1991.

Mr Sherpao said most of the remittances came in from Pakhtuns working in the Gulf states, showing their lack of confidence in the PTI founder.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2025