Sherpao fears ‘worsening’ law and order situation will mar next elections

CHARSADDA: Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday said though the Election Commission of Pakistan had announced that the general elections would take place in January next year, there was a dire need to bring the worsening law and order under control so that the polls could be held peacefully.

Addressing a gathering in Shabqadar tehsil here, he said it was the responsibility of the caretaker government to provide an enabling environment to political parties by overcoming the challenge of lawlessness.

He added a level-playing field should be ensured so that the candidates could freely run their election campaign and the people could exercise their right to vote.

Aftab Sherpao said law and order was worsening in the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that it was the responsibility of the caretakers to beef up the security to allay the concerns of the people.

Commenting on the economic affairs, the QWP leader said though the country’s economy was stabilised to some extent, it was still facing tough challenges, and it would take considerable time and effort to turn around the economy.

Advising the people, particularly the youth, to think about the country’s future before casting their votes, he said the ones, who had raised hollow slogans and made empty pledges, had left the country in dire financial straits due to their incompetence and lack of vision.

He said rising prices of petroleum products and daily use items had crippled the people economically, who were unable to make ends meet in the face of backbreaking inflation.

“Many families find it hard to send their children to schools due to rising inflation and this will lead to higher dropout rate,” he feared, adding that the have-nots in KP were already faced with lack of health and education facilities.

Aftab Sherpao said though successive governments claimed credit for undertaking uplift works, the province still lagged far behind in terms of facilities and road infrastructure.

“Nobody cared about protecting the provincial rights,” he remarked. He said the people in the remote and mountainous areas were compelled to use cable cars for commuting.

He said the gulf between the province and the centre was widening as KP was not getting its due share in resources, underscoring the need for collective wisdom to address the challenges facing the country.