‘Work on Mansehra-Balakot Expressway to start soon’

MANSEHRA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Sardar Mohammad Yousuf on Friday said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has accorded approval to the Mansehra-Balakot Expressway and issued directives to the department concerned for execution of the vital project.

“The federal government has issued directives to the department concerned to execute the Mansehra-Balakot Expressway, which was approved by the prime minister last month,” Sardar Yousuf, who is the parliamentary leader of the party in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, told reporters here.

The MPA said the road would help promote tourism in Kaghan valley and reduce the travelling distance between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“The prime minister during his visit had announced plans to launch mega development projects in Hazara and now issued directives to the departments concerned for execution of the scheme,” he added.

Sardar Yousuf, who also remained the federal minister for Religious Affairs in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s previous government, said that his party always initiated mega development projects in the Hazara division and the rest of the country.

“This project will also shrink the distance between the KP and GB and provide a hassle-free journey to commuters travelling from across the country via Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road,” he added.

Sardar Yousuf said that the prime minister had earlier approved the airport, roads grid stations, natural gas projects and the establishment of Hazara Electric Supply Company (Hesco).

“These projects once completed would bring revolutionary changes in people’s lives in Hazara division and the rest of the province,” he added.