QWP slams govt for failing to restore peace to Kurram

PESHAWAR: Expressing concern over the worsening law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa particularly in the southern belt, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Sherpao on Wednesday demanded that an all-parties conference should be convened to discuss the problems facing the province.

Speaking at a press conference in the Peshawar Press Club, he expressed grief over the loss of previous lives in the clashes in the Kurram tribal district and said it was unprecedented that women and children were being killed in attacks.

Quoting official figures about the death toll, he said that so far 82 people had lost their lives while over 150 sustained injuries in the clashes in Kurram.The QWP leader demanded an investigation into the attack on the passenger vehicles on November 21.

Criticizing the provincial government for its failure to ensure peace in Kurram, Sikandar Sherpao said that though it claimed to have brokered a ceasefire, the clashes were still taking place with no respite in violence. He said that major roads had been closed for three months in Kurram which had been converted into an open jail.

The QWP chif leader said the provincial government was focusing on making preparations for its Islamabad protest and it was least bothered to pay attention to the issue of law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan divisions constituted 15 percent of KP’s population where the people were bearing the brunt of rising lawlessness. Sikandar Sherpao said it was the responsibility of the provincial government to ensure the protection of the people.

He said the chief minister should have visited Kurram to sympathize with the people and worked for the restoration of peace there. He said the chief minister merely issued a statement, saying that he was “reviewing the situation”.

Sikandar Sherpao said the government was losing its writ in the southern belt of KP. He said the government had left the people at the mercy of terrorists. He said KP had been on auto mode as no efforts were being made to resolve the issues facing the common people. The QWP leader said that on the one hand, the federal government sought loans from international moneylenders, while on the other hand, the protest caused loss worth billions of rupees to the national economy. He asked what was the fault of the Rangers and the police personnel who lost lives in the protest.