Sherpao calls for transparent polls to address challenges

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Wednesday underscored the need for ensuring the holding of the free, fair and peaceful elections so that the challenges facing the country could be addressed.

Addressing a gathering at Dhakki Union Council in Charsadda district, he said the country was facing a host of problems, including rising inflation, poverty, poor law and order and unemployment.

Aftab Sherpao said that whichever political party came to power after the general election would have to make concerted efforts to revive the economy and put the country on the path to development. He said political instability coupled with skyrocketing inflation had halted the progress of the country. “We cannot afford to be distracted from the challenges at hand,” he said, urging the political forces to join hands to steer the country towards political and economic stability. Expressing concern over the step-motherly treatment being meted out to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the QWP leader said the province had lagged far behind in the race of development as the previous government compromised on its rights. He said the residents of KP were facing record loadshedding of electricity and gas despite the fact that the province was self-sufficient in both commodities. “We will not rest until the province gets its due rights,” he said.

Aftab Sherpao said the QWP would not let the people down and would come up to their expectations by honouring the pledges.

He maintained that the QWP would spare no effort to work for the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the wellbeing of its residents. The QWP believed in serving the people without any consideration for political affiliations, he said, and advised the voters to check the track record of the candidates before casting their ballots.