Economic corridor: K-P govt wants to ensure rights of Hazara, says Qaiser

Speaker says ‘route’ announcement for division includes single road

MANSEHRA: The K-P government is not opposing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. On the contrary, it is at war with the federal government to ensure the rights of the people Hazara and the rest of the province.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser shared these views while addressing party workers in Mansehra on Saturday.

He said PTI not only wanted a single road to Hazara, but “a full CPEC package including a railway line from Havelian onward”. Other demands included industrial zones, uninterrupted power supply, LNG, an optical fibre line and dams.

He said the inaugurated CPEC project runs through Kashgar, Hazara, Fatehjang and Mianwali, while the western side of the area was ignored.

“What the federal government is calling a CPEC route is just a simple road for Hazara,” he added.



The assembly speaker said his party was not opposed to the development of other provinces, but at the same time wanted to ensure that K-P got its due share in the trade corridor.

About the Suki Kinari Hydropower Project, Qaiser said the people of Mansehra would get electricity from it before other areas.

Referring to a PILDAT survey, the PTI leader said it proved that the provincial government was leading the way in terms of good governance. He said efforts were afoot to ensure better healthcare facilities for the people of K-P.

He said 700 new doctors were being inducted within a month to help the shortfall of practitioners at public sector hospitals.

Qaiser said the delay in resuming and completing construction work on Bakriyal city was due to the federal government.

“The PML-N-led government must ask the construction company to resume work and the K-P administration will provide full security.”

He took notice of the taking of commission in the government schemes of the Mansehra TMA and ordered a probe into the matter. He assured a committee was being formed to look into the demands of Baffa tehsil and Tanawal district. The speaker said the body would have a meeting with the CM and make a further announcement.

On the occasion, members of the Insaf Students’ Federation protested against their own government and accused it of ignoring Mansehra deliberately.

Khizara Khan and Gulnaz Shah of ISF said no mega project had been announced for Mansehra over the last three years.

They said the Bakriyal City project had been lingering on and TMA’s staff was taking 10% commission on developmental schemes. The speakers pointed out that the city had no overhead bridge, while a water shortage persisted. They highlighted missing facilities of hospitals in Oghi, Balakot and other areas, saying these circumstances were adding to the miseries of Mansehra’s people.

They warned that if the PTI government failed to initiate projects for Mansehra, the federation would protest outside the Bani Gala residence of PTI chief Imran Khan after Ramazan. On the occasion, Sardar Saleem and Sardar Nawaz of PML-N and close aides of federal minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf announced joining the PTI.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2016.