ANP to convene APC on economic corridor

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Sunday announced to convene an All Parties Conference (APC) on the reported change in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route in Balochistan and urged the government to take all the political leaders into confidence on the issue.
The ANP chief welcomed the recent visit of Chinese President Xi Chinping as a good omen for the country’s development, but said they won’t allow anyone to change the original route of the corridor. He was addressing a news conference after ANP’s consultative body meeting over the corridor issue at the residence of the party’s senior vice-president Ghulam Ahmad Bilour here.ANP General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, provincial president Ameer Haider Hoti, Haji Mohammad Adeel and other leaders were also present on the occasion.
Asfandyar said that China had always given preference to the road leading through central and southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so that the terrorism affected and least developed areas of the country could be brought on a par with the developed areas.
He was of the opinion that with the planned changes in the route, 70 percent of the revenue from the corridor would go to Punjab only and the remaining 30 percent would be distributed by the rest of provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan.The Pakhtun nationalist leader said that the Pakhtun belt and Balochistan have been deprived of development and they “are still not being considered as a part of the mainstream.”
He said that the entire map of the corridor had been changed for vested interest. Asfandyar said the four provinces of the country were like four brothers and they should get equal rights. He said it was a matter of serious concern that the federal government was neglecting the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.