Reaffirming his resolve for peace in Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said on Saturday that he would extend all possible help to the federal government to counter the Karachi violence.
Hoti told reporters after laying the foundation stone of Bacha Khan’s Greater Complex at Mardan that the ongoing action against terrorists and land grabbers should be across the board. He urged political forces to fulfill their due responsibility in efforts aimed at ending the violence in the city.
Clarifying that his government was happy with the commitments made by President Asif Ali Zardari regarding the return of peace in Karachi, he said the country was going through crises and joint efforts were needed to overcome the grim situation.
The chief minister was informed that Bacha Khan’s complex would cost Rs 170 million and following completion of its boundary wall, Abdul Wali Khan University, Bacha Khan Medical College and Amir Mohammad Khan Agriculture University would be built, currently all of which were functioning in temporary buildings and installations. He was informed that infrastructure of the Bacha Khan Greater Campus also included building of internal roads, sewerage and drainage system which would cost around Rs 370 million. Later, the chief minister inaugurated the improvement work and black topping of access roads to Bacha Khan’s Great Campus at Mardan which would cost around Rs 220 million. The chief minister said he would launch the construction work of Abdul Wali Khan University next month.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the chief minister termed establishment of the Bacha Khan Greater Campus as a mega project which would take several years to complete, adding that a change of governments should not hinder its completion as such projects were not owned by a particular political party or an individual. He said the Bacha Khan Greater Campus would be built over 5000 kanals. To a question on the arrears of net hydroelectric profit, Hoti said he had talked to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on this issue and the Rs 110 billion arrears would be paid to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in cash and would not be adjusted against federal government loans. However, he said the issue of mark up and uncapping of annual net profit would be resolved in a meeting of a committee constituted by the prime minister.