Sherpao sees conspiracy behind polls defeat

PESHAWAR: Expressing reservations about the results of the February 8 general election, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Tuesday said the representatives of Pakhtuns were kept out of the Parliament under a conspiracy.

A press release issued from Watan Kor said the polls were not held in a free, fair and transparent manner, considering its unexpected outcome. Expressing reservations about the entire electoral process, he said disunity harmed the people at the polls. “Misunderstanding and lack of unity undermined the people,” he said, adding the people of KP did not vote for a cause or ideology. “The problems facing KP will be placed on the backburner as the voters did not vote on the basis of issues,” he remarked. He feared that now KP would be dealt with as a periphery and the problems it was facing would not be given due importance. “The people were deprived of their true representation by design,” he said.

Raising objections to the electoral exercise, he said the 2024 election was the continuation of the 2018’s managed election. “Keeping the true representatives of the Pakhtuns out of the Parliament would have negative consequences,” he maintained. “The political forces were expecting that the elections would help restore the confidence of the people and end the prevailing political and economic uncertainty, but unfortunately that did not happen,” he lamented. He said the general election, which was riddled with irregularities, created doubts about its transparency. He said his party would try to prevent the situation from taking an ugly turn in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the wake of the general election. “We will spare no effort to forge unity among the people and remove the clouds of uncertainty hovering over the political landscape,” he said.He said the outcome of the election was unexpected. “It seems the elections were stage-managed,” he commented.