KP Assembly asks Centre to stick to original CPEC route

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution that asked the federal government to honour its commitment made at the All Parties Conference on May 28 about sticking to the original route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) parliamentary leader Sikandar Sherpao presented the resolution that was signed by lawmakers from all the political parties.
The resolution asked the federal government to ensure work on the original route of the multi-billion project so that the country could be put on track to progress.
Sikandar Sherpao, Awami National Party’s Syed Jafar Shah, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker Munawar Khan, Minister for Information Mushtaq Ghani belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan from the Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s Salim Khan believed that changes have been made in the route of the economic corridor.
Vowing to resist any change in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor route, they maintained in their speeches that non-implementation of the original plan would be an injustice to the smaller provinces.
Taking the floor, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary leader Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha dismissed the reports about the change in the corridor route.
He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would not go back on his words, adding the project was being implemented as per its original map and the western route would be executed first.
Aurangzeb Nalotha said the western route would pass through Burhan-Fateh Jang-Mianwali and Dera Ismail Khan and dry port would also be constructed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The unanimous resolution adopted by the assembly on Tuesday reads: “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a fortune changer project. The people of Pakistan fully support it. The project became controversial when the original route was changed.”
The provincial assembly has passed unanimous resolutions to urge the federal government to strict to the original map.
A number of seminars, conferences, walks and protests were also held to pressure the federal government to restore the original route of the corridor.
On 28 May, an all parties conference (APC) was held in Islamabad with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair. A consensus was evolved in the conference with the prime minister announcing that the western route would be completed first. He had also named the cities and towns through which the western route would pass.
Subsequently maps were issued, but allocations in
the federal budget created doubts.
According to the plans, the western route will remain the same old single road National Highway. The budget allocations are mainly for the eastern route. The rest of the allocations are to connect this route to Gwadar and Karakoram Highway.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly through the resolution asked the federal government to keep its promise made at the APC held on May 28. It said that deviation from the decisions of APC would not be acceptable to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The assembly unanimously passed two more resolutions. The resolution moved by Qaumi Watan Party’s Meraj Humayun Khan asked the provincial government to enhance the status of the Primary School Teachers (PST) by giving them their due rights, scales and incentives.
It asked the government to direct the media outlets to project the importance of PSTs in the education system.
The resolution demanded that PST should be given pay scale in accordance with their qualifications i.e. scale 15 for undergraduates, scale 16 for graduates and 17 for Masters degree holders.
It said that trainers for primary teachers should be selected from among PSTs and they should be given share in appointment of Subject Teachers (SS) and merit should be upheld at the district and tehsil level.
Through another resolution moved by Amna Sardar of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, the government was asked
to declare December 16 as public holiday to commemorate the sacrifices of those killed in the carnage at the Army Public School Peshawar last year.