PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Friday said his party would resist with full force besides moving the court of law if the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill 2025 was passed.
Speaking at a press conference here, he said that the proposed legislation was aimed at depriving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of its mineral resources. He said that besides moving the court, his party would stage protests and raise voice at all forums if the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill was enacted.
Aftab Sherpao said that some elements were out to capture the resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that the QWP would go to any extent to protest against the passage of this controversial legislation. He maintained that even the leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had started criticizing the proposed bill. He condemned the bid by some PTI circles to link the passage of the proposed bill to the release of the PTI founder.
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 in the southern belt and 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.
Aftab Sherpao said that the provincial government could not resolve the issue of the Kurram unrest over the last seven months. He said that major roads leading to Kurram district were still closed and this had created the shortage of food, medicines, and fuel.
Criticizing the federal government for raising the petroleum levy, he said that the rulers should have passed on the relief to the people, who were already facing skyrocketing inflation.
Aftab Sherpao slammed the federal government’s announcement that the funds from the POL prices would be saved to build roads in Balochistan, saying that the uplift work was carried out under the Public Sector Development Programme. He said that the proceeds from the petroleum levy did not go to the federal divisible pool rather it went to the treasury.
Commenting on the return of the Afghan families, he said that Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR should hold a tripartite meeting to come up with a mechanism for the smooth and respectful repatriation of the Afghan refugees. He said the federal and provincial governments were spending millions of rupees on useless advertisements, adding that this practice should be stopped.
He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also not getting its due share of water under the Water Apportionment Accord 1991.
About the recent increase in remittances, the QWP said that most of the money had been sent by the Pakhtuns working in the Gulf States, which negated Imran Khan’s claim of stopping remittances and it served as a vote of no confidence against him.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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