PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao on Sunday opposed the sale of land acquired for the Mardan education complex, saying it was against the claims of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government about declaring emergency on education in the province.

A press release from Watan Kor said that he was speaking at a meeting of party executives from the Peshawar branch. He directed the participants to work towards strengthening and reorganizing the QWP at the grassroots level.

Sikandar Sherpao said the PTI had ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the third consecutive term but failed to work for the welfare of the people. “Selling the land acquired for the education complex is a violation of relevant laws,” he said, adding that as per the law, a piece of land once acquired for a project should be used for that specific purpose. He said the bid to sell the land was a classic example of the PTI’s poor economic management. He said it would set a bad precedent and open a Pandora’s box. “This shows that the PTI has miserably failed to manage the economic affairs of the province and has now started selling off the provincial assets,” he maintained.

Expressing concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in various parts of the province, the QWP leader said that the local administration in the Kurram tribal district should spring into action to mediate a ceasefire between the warring tribes. He said the fighting had claimed several lives but the provincial government was acting as a silent spectator. He said that the provincial ministers and advisers were always ready to make political speeches and indulge in political statements on trivial issues but they did not have time to stop the bloodshed in Kurram.

Sikandar Sherpao criticized the federal government for repeatedly increasing the electricity tariff and said that the agreements reached with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) should be reviewed as the deals were favorable to investors and did not take into account the rights of consumers. He said that the government was burdening the electricity consumers with the burden of paying the capacity payments to the IPPs, which was a great injustice to the people. He said that the government should conduct an inquiry to determine who is responsible for reaching the agreements with the IPPs, protecting only the rights of the investors.