QWP condemns firing on PTM rally

PESHAWAR: The Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) on Wednesday condemned the firing incident targeting organizers and participants of a Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) rally.

In a statement issued from the party’s secretariat, Watan Kor, the QWP expressed concern over the use of force and expressed solidarity with the families of those killed and injured in the incident.

It warned that the use of violence against peaceful citizens would deepen public mistrust in the state.The QWP maintained that the country’s constitution guaranteed the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest to all citizens. The party also voiced opposition to the government’s ban on PTM, adding that the issue was political and required a political solution.

The statement further announced that a 14-member delegation from the QWP would attend PTM’s “Grand Pashtun Jirga” to show their support. The delegation will be led by the party’s central secretary of information, Tariq Ahmed Khan, and will include provincial finance secretary Akhunzada Sikandar Zaman, provincial secretary of information Shakeel Waheedullah Khan, provincial secretary for literature and culture Dr Alam Yousafzai and others.The QWP reiterated its long-standing commitment to working within the constitutional framework to secure the rights and welfare of the Pashtun people.