Sherpao urges Centre to merge Fata with KP

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Sherpao on Friday asked the federal government to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forthwith.

He was addressing a public meeting at Ali Jan Killay after inaugurating the natural gas supply project. Aftab Sherpao said that Fata-KP merger should be finalised as soon as possible as delaying the process would deprive the tribal people of their due rights. He said some political parties were politicising the issue for own vested interest, which was deplorable.

Aftab Sherpao asked the federal government to address this issue on priority basis to remove the prevailing despondency among the tribal population. "The decision about the status of the tribal areas should be made with consensus to give the tribal people their due rights," he stressed.

Aftab Sherpao believed said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been deprived of its resources. He said the Pakhtuns always rendered sacrifices for the country but they were ignored when it came to the uplift projects.

The QWP said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produced surplus gas and electricity but its dwellers were exposed to prolonged outages. He said the people of the province were facing electricity and gas loadshedding for hours.

He said the suspension of gas and electricity to the province would create a sense of deprivation among the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Aftab Sherpao lashed out the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government for failing to bring about the promised change in the province.

He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had failed to secure the due shares for the province. The QWP leader said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa voted the PTI leaders to power, but they were unable to deliver on the pledges.

He said the people would vote out the PTI leaders in the forthcoming general election. "The people cannot be deceived in the name of change. They have now seen the poor performance of the provincial government," he maintained.