Talks should be held on Kashmir issue: Sherpao

PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Sunday said that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through talks as India and Pakistan were nuclear states.

According to a press release, he was talking to a delegation of party workers from Lower Dir district at the Watan Kor. He said that Kashmir had become a nuclear flashpoint between two nuclear powers of South Asia.

"The world powers are aware of the fact that Pakistan and India are nuclear states, therefore, they should play their role in resolving this issue," he added. On Afghanistan, Aftab Sherpao said that his party supported the ongoing peace process to restore stability to Afghanistan and the region at large.

He said the democratic process should also be strengthened in Afghanistan besides taking the peace talks to its logical conclusion. However, he explained said that Kashmir dispute and the Afghan peace process were two separate things and these should not be interlinked.

Reiterating his party's stance on securing rights for the Pakhtuns, he said that the QWP was striving to forge unity among the Pakhtuns. "The issues being faced by the Pakhtuns cannot be solved unless they stand united," he pointed out.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, he said that the rulers had failed to honour a single pledge made with the people during the election campaign. He said the pledge to create 10 million jobs and construct five million houses were election gimmicks to deceive the people. He added that the PTI rulers were not sincere to serve the people and it was evident from their poor performance over the last one year.