Extreme steps threatened if APC’s decision not upheld

Khattak, leaders of other political parties demand details of CPEC

PESHAWAR:

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and leading political figures has reiterated that extreme steps will be taken if the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is not built according to decisions taken in the all parties’ conference on May 28, 2015.

Leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Awami National Party, Qaumi Watan Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl issued a similar warning to the federal government.



Khattak was addressing a gathering organising by the Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek (PAT) at Auqaf Hall on Saturday.

The chief minister demanded complete details of CPEC, saying the information was not shared with the K-P government.

He pointed out $3 billion were earmarked for electricity projects and the province should be informed about the manner in which the budget would be spent. Khattak also asked for a complete monograph of the routes on which railway tracks and industrial zones would be set up. The chief minister claimed the K-P government received credible information that no industrial zone would be set up in the province. He said K-P should be provided details of the fiber optic project.

The CM demanded the establishment of an authority to oversee the projects in the country. Parliamentary parties of the province were also present to support the chief minister. They all collectively vowed to leave no stone unturned to make sure the province was granted its due rights in the mega scheme.



“It is said that the country is a federation, but when any opportunity arises, big brother eats it all,” Khattak said. “We have a lot of ways to take our rights, but the enemy is very clever. Our extreme measures will not be revealed at this stage.”

The chief minister was sceptical over the government’s failure to share the agreement signed with China. He questioned the lack of an ADP for western routes and why such an important issue was not discussed at the Council of Common Interest or the floor of the National Assembly.



“There's something black in the lentil,” the chief minister said, using an old Urdu proverb.

The chief minister also dismissed assurances given by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the May 28 meeting that work on the western route would be completed first. He flayed the Centre for lying to them, saying one thing is said in meetings and another implemented on the ground. Khattak urged the federal government to take tangible and practical steps instead of making commitments.

K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, who was also present on the occasion, said PTI Chairman Imran Khan also warned the leadership of the province that the nation would not forgive a compromise on the matter.

Qaiser added the land had been destroyed by long wars and this badly affected the lives of Pukhtuns. He slammed the Centre for ignoring them in development projects.

"This is not a political, but national issue," ANP’s Sardar Babak said. “It affects all oppressed people.”

He said people of the country were fighting militants on the one hand and rulers for the country on the other. He warned that CPEC would turn into another Kalabagh dam-like problem if the centre failed to treat all provinces equally.

Jamaat-e-Islami MPA Saeed Gul said JI would only support the plan which ensured the province got its complete rights. He said the party will stand with other political forces fighting for this just cause.

Pakhtunkhwa Ulasi Tehreek leader Dr Said Alam Mehsud, the man who mobilised the public, political parties and K-P government over the CPEC, was present on the occasion. He was responsible for this particular gathering of political leaders at the Auqaf Hall.

Mehsud also recalled Nawaz’s promises of completing the western route first and providing all provinces with an equal share in development projects of the corridor. He believed these promises were completely false. “Even now, over 80% is for Lahore and rest is to connect Punjab with other areas through road and rail,” he stressed.

About the geographical location of the province, Senior Minister Sikandar Sherpao said K-P had an important strategic bearing, but never benefitted.

"We have to take our right by force otherwise the people will never forgive us," Sherpao said. "The Constitution provides that the country be run as a federation, but that has never been the case.”

He said the gathering wished to convey the message that concentrating on a single province would destroy the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2016.