Firm stance: ANP refuses to attend briefing on CPEC

Party demands that PM pay attention to western route as well

PESHAWAR/DI KHAN:

Awami National Party has refused to be part of any ‘fresh briefing’ on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as requested by the federal government.

The party leadership has announced it will not attend any briefing until the commitment made during the All Parties Conference (APC) regarding the western route of the corridor is fulfilled in letter and spirit. This was stated in a letter sent to Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal by former senator Afrasiab Khattak on behalf of the party chief, Asfandyar Wali Khan.

“The recent allocations, announcements and inaugurations convey a different message and show that the eastern route [of CPEC] continues to be the federal government’s priority,” reads the letter which is a response to Ahsan and Afrasiab’s conversation over the phone on November 17. “I conveyed your message, given on behalf of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to ANP central president Asfandyar Wali regarding your offer for a fresh briefing on CPEC to an ANP delegation and an invitation for a visit to the project area to check the on-ground progress.”

Demands and promises

Afrasiab further states in the letter, “Asfandyar expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for the invitation, but believes the latter’s commitments made at the APC have to be implemented.”

The letter stated ANP and the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Balochistan find it unacceptable that the federal government is paying more attention to the eastern route and that the prime minister is breaching his commitments.



In his message, Afrasiab further demands ANP wants similar inaugurations for districts in K-P, Fata and Balochistan on the western route, like the ones made by the prime minister in Lodhran and Sialkot.

The letter also states ANP wholeheartedly supports CPEC and deems it vital for socio-economic development, peace and stability in the region.

Communicating issues

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Afrasiab said the letter has been delivered to Ahsan’s office. He said he met the minister for planning and development in a recent function after the letter was written and informed him that a detailed reply on the subject was sent to him.

In reply to a question, Afrasiab said it was important to put the telephonic conversations on record for reasons of transparency.

The federal minister was not available for comments. However, while interacting with a Twitter account that goes by the name ‘Justice 4 Pashtuns’ the federal minister said, “ @Justice4Pashtun Stop misleading Pukhtuns. CPEC to serve all the provinces. Don’t play in enemies of CPEC hands by making CPEC controversial.” He further added in his tweets that CPEC has three routes and the western route will be completed first.
On the other hand, the federal government has initiated a survey of the western route of CPEC and it will be completed by the end of the month. This was said by National Highway Authority Director Abdul Samad Khan during a briefing with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in DI Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2015.