Mega project scrapped by PTI govt to be revived, says PMLN leader

MANSEHRA: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) vice-president and MNA Sardar Mohammad Yousuf on Tuesday said that the federal government would revive all mega development projects approved by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif but scrapped by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.

“Thanks to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who secured soft loans of $41 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Mansehra’s gravity water supply scheme as this project was originally approved by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017 but was later on scrapped by the PTI’s federal government,” he said while addressing a press conference.

The event was attended by PMLN leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law, Captain (Retd) Mohammad Safdar, former federal minister Syed Qasim Shah, former tehsil chairman Balakot Junaid Ali Qasim, tehsil chairman Mansehra Sheikh Mohammad Shafee, and Baffa-Pakhal tehsil chairman Sardar Shah Khan.

Sardar Mohammad Yousuf said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a Saudi delegation had signed an agreement under which Saudi Arabia released $41 million for the mega gravity water supply scheme, benefiting around 250,000 individuals.

“The prime minister is expected to visit soon to inaugurate this project, as well as the first-ever energy project of the 880-megawatts Suki Kinari Hydropower project, recently completed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Sardar Yousuf said.

He added that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had already approved the project.Captain (Retd) Mohammad Safdar stated that the PTI government had scrapped the Mansehra airport and other mega development projects, despite the federal government releasing Rs1 billion in funds for them.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been reconsidering the revival of these and other such projects,” he said.He further said that the execution of the Mansehra-Muzaffarabad Motorway, the natural gas supply to Naran, mega tunnels at Babusar Top and Khaki-Oghi, and the laying of a railway track from Havelian to Mansehra and beyond would soon commence.

“The federal government is planning to turn Kaghan valley up to Babusar Top into an all-weather tourist destination by constructing a long tunnel at Babusar Top, ensuring a constant connectivity between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan via Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road,” Safdar said.

He said that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had also approved Rs10 billion scholarships for students from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to study abroad.“The Punjab government will also provide financial assistance for the treatment of 100 hearing-impaired girls from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa annually and two Danish schools one each in Hazara Division and Peshawar would be established,” he added.