Economic corridor: Nawaz accepts Asfandyar’s western route proposal

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has accepted the demand of Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan to upgrade the western route of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from two to four lanes.

ANP leader called on Premier Nawaz at PM House where he expressed his reservations over the CPEC route. He asked PM Nawaz to covert the two-lane into four.

The officials at PM House told The Express Tribune that the premier initially tried to convince the ANP leader as the traffic flow is less on the western route in DI Khan compared to the motorways passing through the Punjab province.

Later, Premier Nawaz accepted the proposal when told that the four-lane would look beautiful instead of just two-way, they added.

Asfandyar Wali after the meeting held a press conference and shared the details of his meeting with the prime minister.

The ANP leader said he discussed Pak-Afghan ties, CPEC routes and Fata reforms.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th,  2015.