Country stood isolated due to flawed foreign policy: Sherpao

Peshawar, August 08 (Online): Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said on Saturday that the country stood isolated due to the flawed foreign policy. Speaking at a press conference at Watan Kor here, he said the country’s relations were strained with Saudi Arabia and China. “There is a dire need to revisit the foreign policy,” he maintained.

On the occasion prominent political fiqures of Peshawar City and District Waheed Kamran Siddique Advocate, Muhammad Kaleemullah, Hamid Saeed, Arbab Niaz Muhammad Khan and others announced joining the QWP. Aftab Sherpao said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor had been placed on the back burner. He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rulers were incompetent and did not have the vision to work for the development of the country.

Commenting on the recent statement of foreign minister on the role of Saudi Arabia in the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), he said there marks would strain relations with Riyadh.About the ongoing peace talks in Afghanistan, Aftab Sherpao said that a holistic approach was needed to pave the way for the restoration of peace in the war-strife country. He noted that all the stakeholders should participate in the intra-Afghan peace talks to end the hostilities and bring peace to the region. He reiterated the stance of his party to lend all-out support to the Afghan peace process.

Turning to the provincial government’s performance, he said it compromised on the rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said it was sheer injustice on part of the federal government to make the provincial government pay the interest on the loan taken by the center to pay the net hydel profit arrears to KP. He criticized the federal government for making a cut on the Rs500 million excise revenue, saying that the move was unconstitutional.“As per the Provincial Consolidated Fund, the province is entitled to receive the money, but the KP government is silent on this issue,” he noted with concern.

He said the government did not fulfill the pledges with regard to the merged districts, which was causing a sense of deprivation among the local population. Aftab Sherpao said that power outages and rising inflation had made life miserable for the common people. He said the PTI lacked the ability to come up to the expectations of the people. “This is a hybrid regime, which was helped by the powers that be to come to power in an effort to undermine other political forces.