PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party has expressed concern about the ‘diversion’ of funds by Save the Children, an international NGO, from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Punjab and said the move was unjust and based on ill-will.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, ANP information secretary and member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Sardar Hussain Babak said Save the Children should not abandon Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by diverting its funds to Punjab.

He said there was a need for international support to rebuild terrorism-affected province (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), which had so far acted like a frontline state in war on terrorism.

The ANP leader said the province had fought for the peace and security of the entire country and paid a heavy price for it by losing hundreds of lives in bombings and therefore, international NGOs should to continue working for its development.

He said it was shocking to know that the federal government had allowed INGOs to work in Punjab after discouraging them from carrying out projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Babak urged the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in the province to take the matter seriously to ensure corrective measures.

“If PTI wallahs remain silent, the people of the province, who voted them to power to dispense them justice, will never forgive it for this great injustice,” he said.

The ANP leader said in view of the current financial problems of the province and how its funds are diverted in an unjust manner to another province, there should be little doubt that it (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) would also become restless like Balochistan.

He said the federal government should treat all ‘Diversion’ of INGO’s funds from KP to Punjab regretted provinces equally and in a just manner.

In another news release, ANP provincial general secretary Aimal Wali Khan criticised the PTI chairman over failure to ensure resolution of the problems of the province’s health workers long protesting outside Imran Khan’s residence in Islamabad.

He said workers of Expanded Programme of Immunisation and Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation project had been protesting for rights in scorching heat during Ramazan but ironically, the PTI chairman was unmoved.

Aimal Wali regretted the ‘callousness’ of the PTI leadership towards the plight of protesters.

“Instead of giving jobs and creating employment opportunities for youths in the province, the PTI government is not even listening to those who lost jobs and are protesting outside Imran Khan’s mansion in Bani Gala (Islamabad),” he said.

The ANP leader said despite holding protest for the last 18 days, no one from the government or the ruling party had bothered to listen to health workers.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2015

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