Death anniversary of Hayat Sherpao marked:

PDM representing sentiments of people: Sherpao

By Sabz Ali Tareen

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Thursday said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was truly representing the sentiments of the people who wanted to see an end to this government.

“The PDM will march towards Islamabad and will stay put in the federal capital until the selected prime minister resigned,” he declared while addressing a well-attended gathering at Sherpao village here to mark the 46th death anniversary of his elder brother Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao.

He also expressed concern over the increasing sense of deprivation among the Pakhtuns and said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had failed to safeguard the interests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We will not rest until the deprivations of the Pakhtuns are removed,” he vowed

A large number of QWP workers wearing party caps and holding flags showed up at the event. They also chanted slogans eulogising the services of the martyred leader.

QWP provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao and other party leaders were also present on the occasion.

Paying rich tributes to Hayat Sherpao, Aftab Sherpao recalled that his brother had always raised voice for the rights of the oppressed people and worked for their wellbeing throughout his life.

“Shaheed Hayat Mohammad Khan had entered politics as a challenger to the forces of the status quo. He inspired political consciousness in Pakhtuns and played a leading role in their socio-economic development,” he recalled.

He maintained that the policymakers should also look into the miseries of the Pakhtuns and devise such policies to mitigate sufferings of the Pakhtun people as they rendered matchless sacrifices for the restoration of peace.

Criticizing the PTI government for its flawed policies, he said his party wanted true democracy to take root instead of the controlled one that has stifled the growth of the democratic institutions.

Reiterating the demand for holding free and fair elections, Aftab Sherpao said the selected rulers did not have the ability to deliver as it was evident from their two and a half years’ rule.

“It is surprising that no uplift projects are being executed, but the debt burden of the country is piling up,” he added.

He asked the powers that be to stop experimenting with the system and allow the people to choose their true representatives.

He said that the ones who had claimed to establish a state on the Madina state model subjected the protesting government employees seeking pay raise to arrests. He said the QWP extended full support to the protesting employees and backed their lawful demands.

Aftab Sherpao asked the government to implement the Fata reforms in letter and spirit and honour the pledges made to the residents of the tribal areas at the time of merger.

He demanded the government to release the three percent funds from the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and the Rs100 billion to be given to the merged districts annually for 10 years. He expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the merged districts and urged the government to take corrective stops or else the situation could spin out of control.

The QWP leader said his party had played its role in introducing the 18th Constitutional Amendment and warned the government against reversing this landmark legislation. He also flayed the government for the non-release of the arrears of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s share from net hydel profit and royalty on the gas and oil deposits in the province.

He said the price hike had made life miserable for the people. He added that the price of a 20kg bag of wheat flour had risen from Rs700 to Rs1,400 and sugar from Rs55 per kilo to Rs110 per kilo while ghee prices registered an increase of 120 to 300 rupees per kilo.

Aftab Sherpao said though the government had announced a health and education emergency, patients died from lack of oxygen supply at a hospital in Peshawar while students were collecting donations for the University of Peshawar where salaries weren’t paid to the employees.