Centre must remove reservations about CPEC route, says Asad Qaiser

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Thursday said that the federal government should remove reservations of the leaders of the political parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route issue.
“The prime minister should take the nation into confidence and remove reservations of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas about any possible change in the economic corridor route,” the speaker told the members of Peshawar High Court Bar Association.
Dr Said Alam Mehsud gave a detailed briefing to the lawyers on the CPEC.Asad Qaiser said that he would soon hold meetings with Federal Minister for Planning and DevelopmentAhsan Iqbal and Mushahid Hussain about the economic corridor.
The speaker said the provincial government would formulate a joint strategy for removing reservations of the political leadership of all the parties about the economic corridor.“I have discussed the CPEC issue with PTI chief Imran Khan,” he said.
He added that the PTI chief had asked him to take onboard all the provincial leadership, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan, prime minister’s advisor Amir Muqam, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, QWP head Aftab Sherpao and JI leader Sirajul Haq on the issue of CPEC.
“I have a mandate to discuss the CPEC with all the leadership of the province and remove their reservations. I would try my best to do the job with patience,” he said. He added that the provincial government would also consult the technical experts on the issue.
“Unity is must for the rights of the province,” he added.He added that the people and leadership of the province welcomed the economic corridor and no one was against it.