Imran vows to end corruption in 90 days if voted to power

Work on 84MW power project opened in Kalam

MINGORA: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Friday laid down the foundation stone of a 84 Megawatts capacity Gorkeen-Mataltaan Hydro Power Project in Kalam valley of Swat district.

The project would be completed in four years with an estimated cost of Rs20 billion. The Italian government was providing financial assistance for the project.

Speaking on the occasion, the PTI chief said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was carrying out real uplift work while the federal government claims of carrying out development work was confined to commercials and advertisements in media.He said that corruption was a hindrance to foreign investment in the country.

Imran Khan said that foreign investors did not come to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the past due to the rampant corruption of the successive governments, adding the PTI-led government in the province eliminated corruption and restored the confidence of investors. “Now dozens of foreign investors have expressed the willingness and desire to invest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and taking part in the bidding for various uplift projects,” he added. He said that the no one has to give bribes to get the contract of a development project in the province.

The PTI chief reiterated the commitment to eliminate corruption in 90 days if voted to power in the Centre.

He said that the state institutions did not take any action against the corrupt rulers. He said that the PanamaLeaks case was in the court, adding the people’s court had given its decision while the court’s verdict was awaited.

Expressing surprise over the setting up of coal power plants by the federal government instead of investing in cheap hydel project, The PTI chief that the countries around the globe were closing down the Coal Power Plants.

About the hydel power project in Kalam, Imran Khan said that no other province could start such a mega project. He said the project would help address the power shortage to a large extent after its completion.

He maintained that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was doing a very good job and improved the standard of state institutions. “The parents have dropped out 34,000 children from private educational institutions and enrolled in the state-run schools,” he claimed.

He said that the public sector hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be an example for the other provinces to follow.

Earlier, the PTI chief laid down the foundation stone of the hydel power project in Kalam. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said his government revamped public sector institutions in the province, sensitized them to the public service and his government ensured justice and transparency in all public sector institutions.

Chief Minister said he brought the available unutilized infrastructure in the province in different sectors to the level of full utilization. The government had a developmental strategy of public welfare oriented nature and it was constantly working on it, he added.

He said corruption was rampant in the past. “Political institutions used to safeguard the interest of political masters. These institutions had lost all the capacity to deliver and affecting the poor,” he added.