PESHAWAR: Expressing concern over worsening law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa particularly in southern districts, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao on Wednesday said that a multi-party conference should be convened to discuss the problems of the province.

Addressing a news conference in Peshawar Press Club, he expressed grief over loss of previous lives in the clashes in Kurram tribal district and said that it was unprecedented that women and children were being killed.

He said that so far 82 people were killed and more than 150 were injured in the clashes in Kurram.

The QWP leader demanded investigation into the attack on passenger vehicles on November 21. Criticising the provincial government for its failure to restore peace in Kurram, he said that though it claimed to have brokered a ceasefire, clashes were still taking place with no respite in violence. He said that major roads had been closed for three months in Kurram, which had been converted into an open jail.

Sikandar Sherpao suggests convening multi-party conference

He said that provincial government was focusing on its Islamabad protest and was least bothered to pay attention to the issue of law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan divisions constituted 15 per cent of the total population of the province where people were bearing the brunt of rising lawlessness. He said that it was the responsibility of provincial government to ensure protection of people.

The QWP leader said that chief minister should have visited Kurram to sympathise with the people and work for restoration of peace there.

He said that chief minister merely issued a statement, saying that he was “reviewing the situation”. He said that government was losing its writ in the southern belt of the province.

He said that government had left people at the mercy of terrorists. He said that KP had been on autopilot mode as no efforts were being made to resolve the issues being faced by people.

He said that one the one hand federal government sought loans from international moneylenders while on the other hand the protest caused losses worth billions of rupees to national economy. “What was the fault of Rangers and police personnel, who lost lives in Islamabad protest,” he questioned.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2024