QWP chief calls for cordial ties with Afghanistan

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) chief Aftab Sherpao has said that the menace of terrorism can be eliminated if both Pakistan and Afghanistan establish cordial and friendly relations.
Addressing a public gathering at Shabqadar on Sunday, he asked the federal government to play a proactive role to establish strong diplomatic ties with the neighbouring Muslim country.The QWP chief said that the Pakhtun belt had remained in a state of turmoil for the last three decades.
“Now, it’s the time to forget about the past experiences and concentrate on the future of Pakhtuns living on both sides of the border. The Pakhtun leadership has been ignored while formulating foreign policies in the past, which have created a sense of deprivation and anxiety among the Pakhtun population. I am not afraid of such attacks and would keep fighting to bring peace and prosperity in the region and to safeguard due rights of Pakhtuns,” Sherpao said.
He added that the federal government should focus on the implementation of National Action Plan against terrorism and make Operation Zarb-e-Azb a success. He urged the people belonging to all walks of life to get united against enemies of the country.
Speaking about unannounced and prolonged loadshedding in the province, Aftab Sherpao said though Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was producing surplus electricity, its dwellers were being subjected to prolonged loadshedding.
The provincial government had also failed to get net hydel profit share from the federal government in the last two years, which adversely affected the economy of the province, he observed.
Expressing concern over the reportedly change in the route of the Gwadar-Kashgar Economic Corridor, he said the QWP would resist any change in the route. He said that the project could help alleviate sufferings of people of the province as well as tribespeople living in a desperate situation for three decades.