PESHAWAR: The leaders of Corridor Front, a group consisting of various political parties and civil society organisations, have said that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak should resign as he failed to get approved a single scheme for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor during his participation in the meeting of Joint Cooperation Committee in Beijing.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Corridor Front convener Dr Said Alam Mehsud said that the JCC meeting in Beijing was very important and people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were expecting that chief minister would plead their case properly and get due share for the province in the mega project but he failed to come up to the expectations of the people.

Flanked by Farid Toofan of ANP-W, Farzana Zain of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Olasi Tehreek, Yousuf Anwar of Mazdoor Kisan Party, Zubair Anjum of JUI-N, Eng Haider Zaman of Awami Workers Party, Advocate Rahim Shah of Fata Lawyer Forum and Liaquat Yousufzai of Kashtkar Coordination Council, Dr Mesud also rejected the idea of convening another all-party conference on CPEC.

He said the chief minister failed to raise in the meeting even the resolutions adopted by the provincial assembly about due share for the province in CPEC. He claimed all the projects for other provinces had been approved.

CF leaders say Khattak failed to get province’s share in CPEC

Dr Mehsud said that Mr Khattak made tall claims about the rights of the province but he did not bother to plead the case of his province in the light of resolutions adopted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

He claimed that original plan of the western route of CPEC was changed. He said that of all schemes, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was given only a short piece of road from Dera Ismail Khan to Zhob. “The estimated cost of the road is only Rs8 billion, which is next to nil, but Pervez Khattak terms it his big achievement,” he added.

Dr Mehsud asked members of provincial assembly to hold the chief minister accountable and reject the decisions taken by JCC. He said that the only forum wherein the issue could be raised was Council of Common Interests (CCI) but for it resignation of chief minister was must so that anyone else could fight for rights of the province.

Speaking on the occasion, Farid Toofan alleged that Pervez Khattak was hand in glove with federal government, especially with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, to bargain over the rights of the province.

He said that Corridor Front had earlier decided to hold sit-in outside Chinese Embassy in Islamabad but the protest would then be held outside Chief Minister’s House. He said that schedule for the sit-in would be announced soon.

Mr Toofan said PTI chairman Imran Khan was blaming others for corruption but not taking action against his own people. He said that the issue of CPEC was so important that he was ready to become part of a united front led by ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan.

Eng Haider Zaman said on the occasion that suggestion about third APC was tantamount to reject the decisions taken during the previous two APCs.

Published in Dawn January 3rd, 2017