QWP urges political forces to join hands for peace, stability in KP

PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday called upon the political forces to join hands to discuss ways to bring durable peace to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Addressing a gathering in Halimzai tehsil in Mohmand tribal district, he said that the law and order had deteriorated in the province particularly in the southern belt and the merged tribal districts. “Peace is a prerequisite for development, therefore, the government should make concerted efforts to maintain law and order,” he said, adding that people felt insecure in the prevailing security situation.

Noted political figure and president of Ittehad Mohmand Qabail Malik Saleem Sardar announced joining the QWP along with his supporters and family members.

Criticizing the provincial government, the QWP leader said that the PTI had been ruling KP for the last 13 years, but it was least bothered to work for the welfare of the people.

“The PTI is more focused on the release of its jailed leader than delivering on the promises made to the people,” he said.

On the demand for the creation of more provinces, Aftab Sherpao said that the people had lost faith in the government as it failed to honour the pledges made to the people of the ex-Fata before merger. “Before the merger, we were hoping that merging the tribal areas into KP will help create opportunities for the tribal people and they would have access to health and education facilities but that did not happen because the government reneged on its pledges and did not provide the promised funds,” he added.

He said that repeated experiments were conducted in the past by successive governments with no tangible results. He called for identifying loopholes to reform the system in vogue instead of experimenting with it.

Aftab Sherpao said that the 18th Amendment was introduced to devolve various ministries to the provinces but the landmark legislation was not implemented in letter and spirit. The QWP chief said that the federal government must slash its expenditure and adopt austerity measures.

He also slammed the Punjab chief minister for her remarks about the threat of terrorism from other provinces, saying that this amounted to belittling the sacrifices rendered by the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the last 20 years in the fight against terrorism.

The QWP leader said that KP lost 80,000 people, including soldiers and policemen, in acts of terrorism. “What else can we do for the restoration of peace and curbing terrorism?” he asked. He said that Mohmand district, which was part of the ex-Fata, lacked basic facilities of health, education and clean drinking water. He said that had the federal government provided the three percent share of the National Finance Commission Award to the merged districts, these problems would have been solved. He, however, pledged that if voted to power, the QWP would spare no effort to provide the basic amenities of life to the people of the merged tribal districts, including Mohmand.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026