LONDON: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has said that the PTI’s provincial government was working at the grassroots to bring long-lasting reforms in the province which will enable genuine progress.
Speaking to British Pakistani audience at the Jang Forum London, Asad Qaiser and KP’s provincial ministers Shahram Khan Tarakai and Muhamad Atif Khan said that the process the sector of education. They said that without improving education facilities and standards, real change cannot be brought and that was the reason budget for the education sector has been increased and prioritised.
Answering questions of the audience, they said that it was wrong to ask of them whether they were with the Taliban or for peace efforts.
They said that the PTI was dedicated to the ideology of Pakistan and was aiming to bring about a solution of the problems that suited Pakistan’s security.
The KP ministers stressed that the previous government of the Awami National Party (ANP) had done nothing to strengthen the police forces and other departments working against terrorism.
ANP leader Javed Akhunzada questioned the ministers over their policy of defeating terrorists and alleged that the part led by former cricket star Imran Khan was soft on terrorism. Asad Qaisar replied:
“The previous governments sold out Pakistan’s national interests. We are involved in a war to save Pakistan. Our leadership is clean and its dedication to Pakistan cannot be doubted.”
The KP ministers said that for the first time in Pakistan’s history an independent accountability commission had been established and the provincial government was answerable to it, not the other around. “Our ministers are open to accountability and introducing transparency is our motto. We will not tolerate corruption under any circumstances and that’s our motto. The people of Pakistan are already experiencing that
change. They said that the federal government should take up the issue of drones with the US and help stop the murder of innocent Pakistanis. He said that the PTI had stopped NATO supplies to send a clear message to the US that the violation of the territorial integrity of the people of Pakistan is not acceptable.
Separately, addressing delegates at the residence of veteran PTI leader Sahibzada Jehangir Khan, Qaisar said that he and his two colleagues were paying for their travel and expenditures in the UK and were not charging a single penny to the taxpayer. He invited British Pakistanis to visit the province and volunteer for various projects the provincial government was running.
Sahibzada Jehangir Khan said it was due to the work done by Imran Khan for Pakistan that today PTI had become the largest party of overseas Pakistanis. He said that the federal government was dithering over the issue of voting rights for overseas Pakistanis because it was aware that the PTI would sweep votes of Pakistanis living abroad “who believe that only PTI has the vision for Pakistan and clean policies.”