Sherpao asks govt to allow ECP to work freely

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday said the government should stop harassing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and allow it to work independently.

Addressing a press conference in Shabqadar tehsil here, he welcomed the ECP report on the Daska by-poll and said it had proved that the ruling party was involved in rigging.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sikandar Khan announced joining the QWP along with his family members and supporters on the occasion.

Demanding strict action against the ones held responsible in the ECP report, he said the officials, who failed to play their due role in holding the free and fair by-polls, should be taken to task.

He rejected the so-called relief package recently announced by the prime minister in his address to the nation, saying it offered no respite from the soaring price hike. “Rather the prime minister informed the nation about the overnight hike in the POL prices,” he added.

The QWP leader said that people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were faced with record inflation. The inflation ratio had shot up in the province, he added.

The PTI government, he said, was not releasing the promised funds to the merged districts, which had caused resentment among the residents there.

Aftab Sherpao said the government was bent upon passing the legislation from the Parliament to pave the way for the use of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) to rig the next election.

The QWP leader chided the government for raising the electricity tariff and prices of the petroleum products overnight, saying it would exacerbate the hardships of the have-nots.

“The country is facing crisis after crisis and the recent surge in sugar prices is a case in point. This government is a total failure,” he remarked.

“To hide its incompetence, the government has launched a smear campaign against the journalists, who are highlighting the real issues,” he maintained. He condemned the PTI government for singling out journalist Saleem Safi for online trolls.

The QWP leader said a brigade of PTI spokespersons was targeting the members of the journalist community. “The PTI people are now showing their true colours,” he commented.

He reiterated the resolve that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would continue to stage protests against the rising inflation, urging all the political parties to join hands with them in order to rise above the political divide for this cause.

He appreciated opposition leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif for reaching out to other political parties inviting them to jump on the PDM bandwagon.

Lambasting the federal government, he said the prime minister seemed oblivious to the ground realities. “It seems Imran Khan lives in a fantasy world of his own,” he remarked.