Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, Professor Ahsan Iqbal has said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a national project and it would benefit all the provinces besides the entire region. Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, the federal minister said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a game-changer and transformation project that would benefit all provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan, FATA and Azad Kashmir and stressed the need for political coherence for its successful execution.
He maintained that the CPEC was a project of national importance, backbone for the economy and social development of the country and would benefit the entire region.
The minister further said that the CPEC is a 46 billion dollars project and it shows the trust of international investors in Pakistan's policies and transparent government, however, some people are trying in their personal and political interests to make the CPEC controversial but they would not be allowed to hijack or sabotage this national project He said the PML-N-led federal government gave equal importance to all the federating units including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab, FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan.
After signing an agreement of "Economic Corridor" with China, Ahsan Iqbal said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has signed an MoU with USA on "Knowledge Corridor" during his recent visit to the States, which would provide an opportunity to ten thousand of Pakistani students to seek admissions to American universities.
He mentioned that USA would provide opportunity of advance education and research to ten thousand of students of Pakistan in various American universities which would enable our youth to meet the future challenges. The minister highlighted that the present government raised the annual budget of HEC from Rs 48 billion up to Rs 78 billion which would help in boosting the higher education and research opportunities and standards of the country.
He hoped that with the completion of KMU's two new projects new windows of better health care as well as research would be opened. He emphasised on the youth that with focusing on the treatment of ailing humanity they should also work on the preventive aspects of various communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Addressing the ceremony, Ahsan Iqbal said that he was very pleased to know that KMU in a short span of eight years had progressed tremendously and it is forwarding towards its goals in right direction. He said the inauguration of academic block and multi purposes hall costing Rs 725.709 million and earth breaking of Institute of Hepatalogy and Institute of Diabetology with the cost of Rs 980.352 million was an evidence of the fact that the federal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is keenly interested in the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Vice chancellor KMU Professor Dr Mohammad Hafizullah on the occasion presented a detailed presentation about the progress and achievements of KMU and later on the chief guest formally inaugurated the academic block and multi purposes hall and laid down the foundation stone of Institute of Hepatology and Institute of Diabetaology along with the VC and other key officers of KMU.
Earlier, the federal minister inaugurated academic block and multi-purpose hall as well as earth breaking ceremony of two health research institutes ie Institute of Hepatology and Institute of Diabetology of Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar. On the occasion, VC KMU Professor Dr Mohammad Hafizullah and Registrar Dr Fazal Mahmood, heads of all institutes, faculty, staff and students of the university were present at the occasion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2016

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