Jirga to protest delay, alleged corruption in BRT

PESHAWAR: The Khalil Qaumi Jirga on Saturday announced to stage protest on March 23 in front of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) offices against the alleged corruption in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project and the delay in its completion, a Jirga member said. They also warned that the main Jamrud Road in Peshawar would be blocked as a mark of protest.

Besides others, former minister and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Amanullah Haqqani, PTI MPA Pir Fida, PML-N’s Arbab Khizer Hayat, JI’s ex-minister Kashif Azam, ANP’s Arbab Mohammad Tahir, ex-MPA Alamgir Khalil, Ashfaq Khalil, PPP's Arbab Zarak Khan and Zubair Khalil attended the jirga.

The jirga pledged that the Khalil tribe would take to the streets to protest against the PTI government if it failed to operationalise the BRT by the promised date.

A jirga member, Arbab Khizer Hayat claimed the total cost of BRT has soared to more than Rs90 billion and this money would come from the poor man's pocket.

He said BRT project has turned life miserable for people of Peshawar. He alleged that former chief minister Pervez Khattak should be made accountable for the rise in the cost of the BRT project and the delay in its execution.