Political leaders in KP want reservations over CPEC removed

Body under Maulana Fazl formed to raise issue with PM

PESHAWAR: Terming the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) the backbone of the country's economy, political parties at the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl-convened All Parties Conference (APC) on Thursday expressed reservations over the western route passing through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Besides KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Speaker provincial assembly Asad Qaiser, central leaders of almost all political parties attended the conference.

Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Chairman of Qaumi Watan Party Aftab Sherpao, Awami National Party General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Faisal Karim Kundi of Pakistan People's Party, provincial chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Intikhab Chamkani of Pakistan Muslim League-Q and Dr Said Alam Mahsud of Pakhtunkhwa Olasi Tehreek attended the day-long conference.

The participants agreed on constituting a special committee led by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to convey their reservations on the CPEC to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif next week.

Briefing journalists after the APC, Maulana Fazl said the KP political parties had serious reservations about the CPEC and if these were not addressed they would take a "right" step in this regard.

"The western route that was inaugurated by the prime minister is not according to the declaration that was unanimously agreed and accepted at the APC convened by him on May 28, 2015. We demand that all decisions made in the APC should be implemented fully," he said.

He demanded the government to ensure the construction of economic or industrial zones along the route of the corridor.

"There is no indication about laying gas pipeline for industries and power lines, fibre optic and railway line. This shows that this is just a road, not corridor," argued Fazl.

He maintained that without those all these facilities the road would have no importance and value. "The federal government has to make certain that all these packages must be included in the corridor under the CPEC," he stressed.

He also asked the federal government to issue a declaration to address their reservations. He added that they were not against the project, assuring the government that the KP political parties would support the completion of the corridor.

Maulana Fazl was of the view that the CPEC was of immense importance that changed China-Pakistan relations from just friendship to economic friendship and would change the fate of the country.

To a question, he said they were democratic parties and wanted to resolve the issue democratically. "If the government failed to remove our reservations, we will decide the future course of action," he warned.

Responding to a question, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said the provincial government was not satisfied with the assurance of Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal and had formed a committee comprising of parliamentary party leaders in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to hold another meeting with Ahsan Iqbal and others on the CPEC.

A reliable source told this scribe that Mehmood Khan Achakzai insisted not to convey the declaration and reservations to the prime minister who had already promised to complete the western route of the CPEC with all its components.

Pervez Khattak, on the other hand, was reportedly not in favour of holding meeting with the prime minister in this regard.

Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said that though he would support the federal government's stance, it was a provincial matter and he would go with the political parties from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the issue.

"This province has given me identity and I promise to fight for its rights," the insider said while quoting Jhagra.

Aftab Sherpao said the coming generations would not forgive them if they compromised on their rights. "The federal government should share all agreements and maps with us and take us into confidence to remove our reservations on the CPEC," he contended.