K-P govt seeks ironclad guarantee on western route

Lawmakers urge federal govt, Chinese embassy to clear the mystery

PESHAWAR: As suspicion deepens on the fate of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s western route, the Khyber-Pakhtunkwa Assembly on Tuesday asked the government for a written assurance.

A brawl erupted between the legislators of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz after the former lashed out at the prime minister and the Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal for not fulfilling their commitments regarding the western route of CPEC.



Chinese ambassador’s remark that western route does not exist in CPEC has stirred debate across the province, as well as protests.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)’s Inayatullah Khan raised the issue and the house was opened for debate suspending the routine agenda for the day.



Inayatullah told the house that Ahsan Iqbal had briefed them and had addressed their reservations regarding the western route of CPEC and the premier had also committed to prioritise the western route in the All Parties Conference (APC).

“We were assured and were told that the western route would get funds in the PSDP but it was shocking when the Chinese ambassador told the chief executive of the province that there is no western route,” he said, adding that they were public representatives and therefore answerable.

“You can't silence us by blaming that an Indian lobby is against CPEC,” he said.

The provincial minister demanded that the government give a written assurance and the Chinese embassy also give them a verbal statement regarding the western route of CPEC.

On the occasion, Speaker of the house Asad Qaiser also told the PML-N lawmakers that as public representatives they too should demand the federal government to make the western route a priority. “We want to pass a resolution that the Chinese government should publicly announce that the commitments made by the prime minister in the APC and Ahsan Iqbal are part of CPEC,” he added.



Coming to the federal government’s rescue the party’s parliamentary leader in the house Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha said that hidden hands were against the project.

He told the house that the K-P government was not serious regarding the western route of the project and the empty chairs of the treasury benches proved it. He said that the government lawmakers were only raising the issue for point-scoring because the premier and the development minister had already removed their reservations.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2016.