Reservations over CPEC: APC forms body to convey concerns to Prime Minister

Leaders of various political parties on Thursday unanimously decided to convey their reservations over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In this regard, a powerful committee, headed by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, was formed for taking up the matter with the premier.
A decision to his effect was taken by participants of an All Parties Conference convened by the JUI-F and they included Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief minister Pervez Khattak, Speaker Asad Qaiser, Mehmood Khan Achakzai of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Aftab Sherpao of Qaumi Watan Party, Mian Iftikhar of Awami National Party, Iqbal Zafar Jaghra of PML-N and Ajmal Wazir of PML-Q.
In a joint declaration, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the CPEC is a project of vital importance for all provinces and they wanted that their reservations on the project should be addressed. "The western route inaugurated by the prime minister is not in accordance with the declaration adopted by the APC convened by the PM on May 28, 2015 and they are demanding that it should be implemented completely by including the entire package," he said.
"Besides, there is nothing about the gas pipeline for industries, power lines, fibre optics, and railway track that changed our doubts into reality and proved that the federal government is hoodwinking them on merely a road in the name of economic corridor," Maulana Fazl added. He maintained that without these projects, the road has no importance for the province and the federal government has to make sure that all these packages must be included. He also asked the federal government to issue a declaration for addressing the reservations of the KPK government. To a question, Maulana Fazal said that they are democratic people and wanted to resolve the issue democratically. "If the government failed to address our reservations then we would decide our future course of action," he said. He added that they were not against the project and assured the government that political parties of KPK would extend their support for the completion of this corridor.