Siraj asks Centre not to make CPEC controversial

TIMERGARA: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq on Sunday asked the federal government not to hoodwink Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and give it its due share in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Talking to reporters at Ahyaul Uloom in Balambat here, the JI chief advised the federal government to avoid making the CPEC a controversial project like that of the Kalabagh dam. “Giving preference to eastern route while totally ignoring the western route is tantamount to usurping the rights of smaller units,” the JI chief went on to say.

The JI leader said the federal government had made the game-changer project disputed due to its ambiguous policy. “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif doesn’t not seem sincere in this regard,” he claimed, adding in the premier did not honour his pledges made at the all parties conference.

Sirajul Haq said the senate committee on CPEC under the chairmanship of Senator Taj Haider had proposed Chitral and Malakand division as alternate route to Gilgit-Baltistan.