PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has expressed grave concern over unannounced and excessive load shedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
While addressing a public meeting at a village in Shakoor, he regretted that the premier’s claims of ending load shedding in 2018 would not come true unless the entire system of distribution and transmission was overhauled, said a press release issued on Sunday.
Earlier, Sherpao inaugurated various development schemes, wherein QWP Provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao and other party leaders were also present.
The QWP chief said that KP was the producer of cheap hydel electricity, but the province had not been utilized for the welfare of the people. Unannounced load shedding in KP is badly affecting the socioeconomic activities of the people.
He said that KP had not been provided the benefits of CPEC which also included the electricity facilities.
He said that the federal cabinet’s decision on the merger of FATA was not sufficient as it had doubted sincerity of the federal government towards Pukhtoons. He termed the measures for the merger FATA-KP as cosmetic and non-serious one. He said that concerted steps were strongly needed to enable the institutions for rapid work in this regard.
The QWP chief said that the tribal people had been victims of terrorism and backwardness which badly affected their socio-economic conditions. He regretted that the tribal people had no representation in the provincial assembly and local bodies. He vowed that the QWP would leave no stone unturned for the rights of the tribal people. QWP chairman deplored that Pakhtuns had rendered untold human and material sacrifices however; they had not been provided any relief which aggravated their sense of deprivation.
He said that the NAP should be truly enforced and should be made dynamic and proactive documents to serve the needs of the country. He called upon the Federal government to discard step motherly towards Pukhtoons and remove their grievance. Sherpao pinned that the reopening of border was a good omen it should be utilized as first step to further solidify the relations between two neighbours.
He suggested that step by step measures to normalize the strained relations. He contended that step should be adopted for the normalization between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the movement at the both sides for the trade and social activities should be making sure for the goodwill gesture and to boost up trade and social relations between the two countries.
