PESHAWAR: The Qaumi Watan Party on Monday declared the provincial government’s ‘agenda of change’ a total failure and said the officials of the relevant departments were being made a scapegoat to save corrupt ministers.

In a statement issued by the party’s central secretariat in Hayatabad, QWP chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led provincial government had lost its direction and therefore, there was a visible difference between its words and acts.

He said the government had no proper planning for the implementation of its so-called agenda for change.

“The government affairs are being run on adhoc basis, so there’s no hope for the people’s welfare,” he said.

Mr Sherpao said former provincial chief secretary Arbab Shahzad’s letter to Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had exposed the non-seriousness of the PTI government.

He said the hiring of eight people by the provincial information department on high salary without advertising the posts belied the PTI leadership’s claim of trying to end nepotism and corruption in the province.

The QWP chairman said instead of taking action against the minister, the chief minister had suspended the sports secretary and several other officials for shifting millions of rupees to the minister’s personal account.

“The officials were made a scapegoat to spare the minister. This shows those ruling the province have double standard,” he said.

Mr Sherpao said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had done no homework to hold the local government elections in the province and instead, blamed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for it.

“The ECP has made its position clear that the provincial government has neither carried out the delimitation of the constituencies nor has it legislated on it,” he said.

The QWP chairman said the PTI government had failed to fulfil its election commitments and that the people felt insecure over the growing lawlessness in the province.

“The rulers’ indifference is causing a sense of deprivation among the people in the province. We will not sit silent and raise voice against all kinds of injustice and negligence on part of the government to protect the people’s rights,” he said.

Mr Sherpao said his party’s popularity in the province could easily be judged from the fact that many political stalwarts and activists had joined it to serve Pakhtuns.