Internews/Islamabad

The PTI is expected to enter into coalition with the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government next week, leaving behind the past bitter memories of dismissal of the latter’s two ministers in 2013 on corruption charges, sources said yesterday.
“The draft MoU has been shared and discussed between the PTI and QWP and both the parties are likely to sign it next week after which two members of QWP - Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli and Sikandar Sherpao - will take oath as provincial ministers,” the sources said.
PTI chairman Imran Khan, who had raised reservations at the first instance about including the QWP in the coalition government, has now given green light to KP chief minister Pervaiz Khattak to deal with the issue of alliance with the QWP. Khattak is looking for a long-term alliance with QWP that can enable the PTI to contest the next general elections hand in hand with the coalition partner that enjoys political influence in at least 15 provincial assembly constituencies.
Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli said that the first round of talks with the PTI had been completed and both the parties discussed each and every clause of MoU, adding, “We will hopefully enter into an agreement with the PTI next week for a coalition government in KP” She said both the parties had left bitter memories of the past and vowed to move ahead in the direction where these can put in their best efforts to resolve the issues of masses and improve their socio-economic conditions.
To a question, she said there were no permanent friends and foes in politics so if there was some kind of misunderstanding between the two parties in the past it does not mean they cannot move ahead as a coalition partner.
KP Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman said both the parties had agreed in principle to form a provincial coalition in line with the political norms and traditions.
“Dismissal of two QWP’s ministers in 2013 was the result of a misunderstanding so this time we both will sign an MoU that will pave way for formation of a Dispute Resolution Committee to help tackle misunderstandings in an amicable way,” he said.