Aftab Sherpao said that all sides must avoid issuing unnecessary statements at this crucial stage as it could jeopardize the peace talks which would be detrimental to regional peace and security. The QWP leader said peace in Afghanistan would help bring stability to the region particularly Pakistan. He said that Pakhtuns on both sides of the Durand Line had suffered in the last 40 years due to bloodshed in this region therefore there was a dire need to make strenuous efforts to mitigate the sufferings of the people by restoring peace.
Appreciating the role played by the Pakistani establishment to help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, he said that Islamabad should continue to support the ongoing peace initiative so that it could yield positive results. Reiterating his party's longstanding stance on peace efforts in Afghanistan, he said that the QWP prayed for the success of the parleys and would spare no effort to bring an end to the miseries of the Afghans.
Meanwhile, QWP Chairman Aftab Ahmad Sherpao in a separate statement issued here criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for its proposed plan to abolish the district tier of the local government system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the PTI government had introduced the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act to delegate powers to the grassroots, but now it was going to abolish the district tier.
Aftab Sherpao said that abolishing the district tier would be a violation of the Article 32, 37(5) and 140-A of the Constitution. He said the proposed abolition would be detrimental to the democratic system. He said the powers that had been devolved to the district would be transferred to the province which was already overburdened after the 18th Constitutional Amendment. The QWP leader said that under the proposed two-tier LG system with tehsil and village councils the powers of the district council would go to the deputy commissioner who would not be accountable to the tehsil nazim.
Aftab Sherpao said it was hallmark of the PTI government that abolished laws after introducing them. He said the PTI rulers had claimed they would replicate the KP LG system in other provinces, but now they were making drastic changes to it. He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission was abolished despite the fact that millions of rupees were spent on its establishment.