Sherpao says PTI govt lacks competence

PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) head Aftab Sherpao on Saturday criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for its plan to constitute another Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the National Assembly.

Through a statement, he said the move would undermine the democratic setup and spoil atmosphere at the National Assembly.

“It seems the government does not want to run the affairs of the National Assembly in a smooth way,” he said, adding the PTI government created deadlock over every issue.

Aftab Sherpao said the bid was aimed at dividing the opposition parties. “Actually, the PTI leaders lack the ability to run the government and that is why they are taking such steps to hide their incompetence,” he added.

The QWP leader said the National Assembly has never had two public accounts committees, arguing that the attempt was targetted at countering the role of PAC Chairman Shahbaz Sharif.

He said the government had failed to provide relief to the people who have been exposed to untold miseries. The people had become disenchanted with the rulers, who reached the corridors of power in the name of change, he added.

“The slogan of change was a ploy to deceive the people,” he said, adding that those claiming to establish a state on the model of the Medina State had been unable to mitigate the sufferings of the people who are facing price hike, joblessness and poverty.

Awareness stressed: The Frontier Foundation Welfare Hospital and Blood Transfusion Services collected 14,463 pints of blood last year, which were screened properly and transfused to the people suffering from various diseases.

This was stated at a meeting of the foundation, which was chaired by its Chairman Sahibzada Muhammad Haleem. Administrator Dr Fakhar Zaman, presented the annual report for a review to the participants.

It was stated that camps were arranged in the year 2018 during which a total of 14,463 bags of blood were collected from the donors.

Dr Fakhar Zaman said all the blood bags were screened. “As many as 157 cases of Hepatitis-B, 56 of Hepatitis-C, two of HIV, 100 of malaria and 27 cases of typhoid were detected during the screening,” he pointed out.

The meeting was told that after the screening, the blood was provided free-of-cost to the patients suffering from thalassaemia, haemophilia and blood cancers.

It was shared that the foundation incurred Rs50 million cost while extending free services to the poor and deserving patients.

The meeting was told that Zakat and other donations from the philanthropists enabled the foundation to extend blood transfusion and other services to the deserving people. Sahibzada Muhammad Haleem, the foundation Chairman, directed the field staff to raise awareness among the people during the blood donation camps about the blood-related diseases which were hereditary.