CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday lauded the civil and military leadership for playing a crucial role in helping end the Middle East conflict and facilitating the US and Iran to sign the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

“It is a great honour and diplomatic success for Pakistan at the international stage,” he said, adding that though the signing of the MoU was the first phase towards ending hostilities and bringing peace to the region, there were still some thorny issues that were to be sorted out in further talks.

He was addressing a gathering in Tangi tehsil here. A known political figure, Qazi Aslam, announced to join the QWP along with his supporters.

Aftab Sherpao said that aggressors could not achieve their objectives during the war, adding that the Iranian leadership managed to come out of this difficult phase by being united and steadfast. “Iran did not bow to the aggressors and remained steadfast,” he said. The QWP leader said that an end to the confrontation in the Middle East would benefit all the countries.

Calls for unity at home to meet challenges facing country

Commenting on the political developments in the country, Aftab Sherpao said that there was a dire need for forging unity in ‘our ranks’ to meet the challenges facing the motherland. “We also need political and economic stability to face challenges and confront terrorists,” he said, adding that all political forces should be taken into confidence, as this would help strengthen the federation.

Sherpao said that Pakistan was a federation and various ethnicities lived in the country; therefore, they all should be taken into confidence to strengthen the federation and address the prevailing challenges with unity.

“Pakistan defeated its arch-rival in the May 2025 military confrontation as the entire nation stood behind the armed forces and showed unity,” he recalled, urging the federation to treat all the federating units equally.

On the recent budget for the next financial year, he said that both the federal and provincial governments disappointed the people, who were offered no relief.

He said that the PTI, which had been ruling KP for the last 13 years, presented its 14th budget offering no relief to the have-nots. He said that KP lagged due to the poor performance and flawed policies of the provincial government. “The PTI and the provincial government are obsessed with the release of their incarcerated leader. They have even linked the passage of the budget with the approval of their jailed leader. This is sheer injustice. They have no concern for the people,” he said.

He said that politics meant serving the people, providing them relief and resolving their issues. He was also critical of the federal government, saying that the prime minister has not paid a single visit to KP, which was facing a host of issues, including a shortage of wheat supply, prolonged gas and electricity loadshedding.

Aftab Sherpao also expressed concern over the closure of the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham and said that it was taking a toll on the traders and the business community.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2026