CHARSADDA: Terming the move a waste of public funds and a political gimmick, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao on Thursday criticised the holding of a provincial assembly session at the cricket ground in Peshawar.
Speaking at a press conference in Tangi tehsil here, Sikandar Sherpao said that a playground was meant for sports, not for legislation, adding that such decisions burdened the national exchequer without serving any purpose.
On the occasion, former tehsil candidate Haroon Khan, affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, announced his decision to join the QWP along with his family members and supporters.
Reiterating his party’s stance, Sikandar Sherpao said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lacked the understanding of where and how to raise key issues. “This is why the province and its people are facing backwardness and are deprived of their basic rights,” he went on to add.
He said the PTI government often missed the opportunities to raise the province’s issues at appropriate forums, while unnecessary steps were taken for political point-scoring. He blamed PTI’s “incompetence” for the ongoing crisis in the province, saying people are deprived of basic facilities such as employment, healthcare, and education.
He further said that rising poverty and unemployment had pushed people into severe mental stress. Despite the government’s declaration of an “education emergency,” he noted that around five million children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained out of school.
Commenting on rising tensions between the United States and Iran, Sikandar Sherpao welcomed Pakistan’s peace efforts and emphasised the need to accelerate diplomatic initiatives to ensure lasting stability in the region.
Several party leaders, including Javed Hussain Khan, Asghar Khan Advocate, Taj Muhammad Khan, Yahya Jan Mohmand, Jahanzeb Khan, Ghaniur Rehman, Dost Muhammad, and Fazal Dayan, along with a large number of local elders and workers, were present at the event.
