PESHAWAR: The lawmakers at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday suggested tendering en masse resignations if the federal government didn’t honour the commitment about pursuing the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The suggestion was made as the provincial legislature witnessed a heated debate on CPEC for the second consecutive day. Initiating the debate, Zareen Gul of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said nobody was against the implementation of the project as it was of vital interest for the country.
However, he said all the federating units should equally benefit from it and urged the federal government to give other provinces their due share. Expressing concern at non-implementation of the western route, he said it was better to tender resignations instead of sitting in the assembly.
Meraj Humayun Khan of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) said it would be great injustice to the province if western route was not included in the project. Criticising the federal government, she said the National Finance Commission award was not implemented and censes was intentionally being delayed. He said the National Action Plan was not being implemented and the police of the federal government policy about the Afghan refugees had created hatred.
She supported backed the idea of en masse resignations if the province was ignored in the implementation of the mega project. Advisor to Chief Minister on Transport Shah Muhammad Wazir said that the original route of CPEC had been changed and it would increase the distance by 600 kilometers and deprive 11 districts of in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of development.
The legislator said that the western route was the most suitable access to the Central Asian Republics for trade. He said quitting the assembly as a mark of protest would be the best option if its resolutions were not honoured.
Sahibzada Sanaullah of the Pakistan People’s Party and Aizazul Mulk Afkari of Jamaat-e-Islami also expressed reservations over the alleged injustices with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.They said Malakand division should also be included in the project as it had the potential to generate thousands of megawatts hydel electricity.
Sardar Hussain Babak of Awami National Party (ANP) said it was ironic that reservations still existed about the western route of CPEC despite the prime minister’s assurance at the All Parties Conference (APC).
He said no allocation had been made for the western route and hydel power projects in the province, which had potential of generating thousands of megawatt electricity. The lawmaker said the chief minister should have attended the session debating such an important issue. Opposing resignations, he said the lawmakers should raise voice at all forums. He asked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan to launch protest for rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where people had voted his party to power.
Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman and Special Advisor to Chief Minister on Higher Education Mushtaq Ghani also lashed out at the federal government. They said the western route was shortest and most feasible for the establishment of the industrial zones as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was rich in resources.
Senior Minister Sikandar Sherpao also expressed reservations over injustices with KP and said no allocations were made for the western route despite assurance by the prime minister. However, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha dispelled the impression of ignoring the province and said work was going on the western route.
He said Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal had assured Chief Minister Pervez Khattak of pursuing the western route. The lawmaker maintained that the prime minister would honour his commitment.
He said Ahsan Iqbal would brief the provincial government and political parties on western route at Governor’s House in Peshawar on October 18 and hoped it would help remove the reservations.Speaker Asad Qaiser said a meeting of all parliamentary leaders would be held on Friday before the assembly session to discuss the future line of action.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/155199-KP-lawmakers-suggest-resignations-en-masse
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