PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued to face strife in its ranks as former provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai quit his responsibility as focal person for the so-called mega projects in Peshawar on Sunday.
When reached on phone, Shaukat Yousafzai confirmed that he had resigned as focal person of the mega projects for Peshawar, but cited personal reasons for quitting his job.
Senior PTI members, however, termed it the result of internal differences among the party leaders in the province ?and claimed that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had forced Shaukat Yousafzai to resign. “I have resigned as I cannot spare time to do the job properly,” insisted Shaukat Yousafzai.
The chief minister gave the responsibility of focal person for Peshawar’s mega projects to PTI Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Peshawar, Yasin Khalil.
According to PTI officials, it was the chief minister who gave report to the party chief Imran Khan about Shaukat Yousafzai and Yasin Khalil earlier and both were sacked as ministers.
Shaukat Yousafzai was one of the oldest members of PTI and a diehard party worker. He and Asad Qaiser were the first elected office-bearers of the party.
It was apparently due to his services for the party that Shaukat Yousafzai was? given the portfolios of two important ministries, health and information, when the PTI formed its government in 2013.
There were also reports that Shaukat Yousafzai was not given the powers required as focal person for the Peshawar mega projects.
“First, there is no mega project for Peshawar. Secondly, everything is controlled by the local government minister Inayatullah Khan and his department,” a senior PTI member said. Yasin Khalil was minister of transport when he was sacked. It hurt both of them and there were speculations they might quit the PTI and join rival political parties at the time.
However, they decided to remain in the party as workers. Yasin Khalil later formed a pressure group along with other party MPAs and MNAs and criticised Chief Minister Pervez Khattak for what he called failing to implement the party’s manifesto and serving his vested interests.
According to PTI members, Shaukat Yousafzai had neither funds nor power to work for Peshawar and its residents.
“Besides the ill-planned Peshawar Flyover that was no doubt built in a record short time of six months with huge funds, ?our government did nothing for Peshawar and its residents,” a PTI MPA told Media on condition of anonymity. He said Peshawar residents elected Imran Khan with a big margin ?from NA-1 constituency but he quit his seat and never bothered to know about the multiple problems being faced by the city and its dwellers.
“Also, it was Peshawar and its residents that elected all the 10 MPAs and four MNAs ?of PTI but what we gave them in return is total disappointment. I must tell you, none of us would be able to face the electorate in the election campaign,” the PTI MPA said.
Out of 10 MPAs from Peshawar, only Shah Farman has been given berth in the provincial cabinet.? He is minister of public health engineering. Another MPA from Peshawar, Ishtiaq Urmar, is advisor to the chief minister for environment and wildlife.
?The party sources said that except lavishly wasting funds on beautification of the GT Road in Peshawar, their government failed to focus on genuine problems of Peshawar residents.
Ziaullah Afridi was another PTI MPA from Peshawar but he was put in jail on charges of corruption by the KP Ehtesab Commission and expelled from the party.
Ziaullah Afridi told Media that Pervez Khattak would discredit all the genuine PTI workers one by one and at the end of the day he would join another party, probably Qaumi Watan Party led by Aftab Sherpao.
