CHARSADDA: Paying rich tributes to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s late governor Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Monday said the martyred leader always strived to help the poor get their due rights.
Hayat Sherpao, the brother of Aftab Sherpao, served as KP governor, a senior provincial minister and later federal minister during the first Pakistan people’s Party (PPP) government in the early 1970s. He was a co-founder of the PPP and was assassinated in a targeted bomb explosion on the campus of the University of Peshawar on February 8, 1975.
Addressing a gathering at his native Sherpao village in Charsadda in connection with the 48th death anniversary of Shaheed Hayat Sherpao, he said, “We are following in his footsteps and will carry forward his mission.”
A large number of QWP activists from different parts of the province participated in the gathering. Wearing the tri-color caps, they were holding party flags and chanting slogans in favour of the party leadership.
Aftab Sherpao said that Hayat Sherpao was the first political martyr from the KP, who laid down his life while striving for the rights of the people from the downtrodden segments of the society.
The QWP leader said this year the gathering to mark the death anniversary of Hayat Sherpao was dedicated to all the victims of terrorism, particularly the cops who were martyred in the police lines blast in Peshawar and elsewhere in the country.
Commenting on the poor law and order and the recent wave of terrorism, he said the Pakhtuns had suffered the most due to acts of terrorism, therefore the state should take steps to stop their bloodshed. He vowed his party would continue striving for the rights of the Pakhtuns.Coming down hard on ousted prime minister Imran Khan, he said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader was playing politics on the issue of terrorism and was least bothered about the sufferings of the people.
He held the previous PTI government responsible for the prevailing poor security situation in KP. Aftab Sherpao said the Imran Khan-led party ruled the province for almost 10 years, but failed to execute a single mega project and instead buried the province under a
huge loan.
Aftab Sherpao said KP’s debt soared from Rs97 billion to 979 billion during the rule of the PTI. He said the PTI provincial government had received Rs417 billion from the federal government for the rehabilitation of the infrastructure destroyed due to terrorism. “The nation asks the PTI leadership, where was the money spent?” he asked.
The QWP leader accused Imran Khan of creating anarchy in the country to pave the way for his return to power. However, he said Imran Khan failed to deliver when he was in power and pushed the country to the brink of bankruptcy. Aftab Sherpao said the previous PTI government strained Pakistan’s relations with China, Saudi Arabia and the US.
“Imran Khan lacks the ability to deliver as he is totally incompetent,” he remarked. He said the Imran Khan government was imposed on the country under a conspiracy. He said the PTI chief was trying to divert the attention of the nation from his past poor performance by building a so-called narrative of regime change.
The QWP chief added that Imran Khan kept changing his stance on every issue and took U-turns. “Imran Khan is bent upon making the country go bankrupt for his political interests,” he said, adding that the ones, who had brought him to power, also regretted helping him.
Aftab Sherpao said Imran Khan deceived the nation by claiming that he was establishing a state on the model of Riyasat-e-Madina. He said Imran Khan had no vision and was a pawn in a conspiracy.
He recalled the previous PTI provincial government did not raise its voice for the rights of KP when Imran Khan was the prime minister.The QWP chief said the corruption scandals of the PTI rulers had started emerging. Though the PTI leaders had claimed to fight corruption, they were involved in corrupt practices so they should be held accountable for it.
Aftab Sherpao asked the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government to provide relief to the people in the face of skyrocketing inflation. He said the government should inform the nation about the outcome of the talks it had been holding with the International Monetary Fund.