PESHAWAR: Former Interior Affairs minister and Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao has asked the federal government to announce a special package for militancy-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the national budget.
Addressing a joining ceremony at his party’s central secretariat, he said that terrorism and extremism have destroyed whole infrastructure and economy of the province. He said that announcing annual budget without having any fresh statistical data was a sheer injustice with the people of smaller provinces especially Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that the government had not done homework on preparing the annual budget for fiscal year 2016-17 as it has bypass some genuine problems of the common people. “It has been nine years since unveiling NFC Award among provinces and there is no fresh statistical data of population. These two indicators are must for a balanced budget but unfortunately the incumbents have ignored both of them,” he said.
Talking about FATA, he said that more than 10 million people from the Tribal Areas were still out of their areas. He said that announcing Rs 100 billion for their return and rehabilitation was not sufficient. He said that the government should announce a comprehensive package for the temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) in order to ensure their timely return with honour and dignity.
– Pak-Afghan cordial relations –
About Pak-Afghan ties, Sherpao said that friendly and cordial relations between Islamabad and Kabul was the need of the day and demanded the federal government to take conducive steps to make upcoming Quadrilateral Coordination Group’s meeting a success. He also demanded of the government to take Pakhtun leadership on board before formulation of policies regarding Afghanistan and Pakhtun population living on both sides of the border.
