Pakistan heading towards 'international isolation': Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister

Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) provinces' senior minister for irrigation and social welfare Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao has warned Pakistan saying it is heading towards 'international isolation' due to its "abnormal foreign policy" in the absence of a foreign minister.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Sherpao said that this issue needs to be addressed and warned that Pakistan was destined to be internationally isolated if the federal government continued to ignore this reality.

He also urged the government to have a permanent foreign policy in view of the changing regional political and economic situations.

Sherpao, who is also the Senior Vice-President of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), K-P chapter, said that his party is in favour of merging the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with K-P.

He added that any delay in this merger will pave the way for militancy to sneak in the tribal region again.

"Pakistan truly needs to reconsider its foreign policy regarding its close neighbours. We are losing friends like Afghanistan and Iran because of a flawed foreign policy," The Express Tribune quoted Sherpao as saying.

He further said that some elements who want to safeguard their own vested interests are intentionally delaying the merger of FATA with K-P.

Sherpao also criticised the ruling PML-N Government for not investing enough in K-P's energy projects such as Munda dam and said that such a trend will hurt the spirit of the Federation.