- KP govt, opposition protest against alleged change in CPEC route, power load shedding in KP, scuffle with police outside Parliament
- Power minister says all issues will be resolved within a week
Granting Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif a week to ensure compliance, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government and the opposition parties ended their protest Tuesday outside the Parliament against alleged change in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and electricity load shedding in KP.
Supported by Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Surajul Haq, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Shibli Faraz, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP)’s Sikandar Sherpao and Awami National Party (ANP)’s Ilyas Bilour, KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak negotiated with the federal minister and his team.
Later on, during a joint press conference outside the Parliament House, Khawaja Asif said that KP issues would be solved within one week while steps are being taken to find a durable solution of all the problems of provincial government. He added that KP government will hold a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar next week in Islamabad to resolve electricity, water and other issues.
The minister made it clear that CPEC will pass through its original route in KP which will be beneficial for the people of that area. He added that PM Sharif has also called a meeting on the corridor.
Addressing on the occasion, KP CM Khattak announced the success of negotiations with the federal government on KP’s issues. He said he will meet WAPDA chairman on Friday to resolve the water issue. The reservations shown by the province have been cleared and a notification would soon be issued, he added.
While appreciating the negotiations, the JI chief said that all political forces of KP, under the chairmanship of Pervez Khattak, have conveyed their reservations to the federal government. He expressed hope that load shedding issue in KP will be resolved before Ramadan. He said several parties participated in the protest and both governments have vowed to pay the pending payments.
PROTEST:
Earlier, PTI members entered strife with the police outside the Parliament ahead of their sit-in along with KP government and opposition parties for provincial rights.
PTI MPAs and ministers from KP gathered outside the Parliament House and staged a sit-in to protest “unfair distribution of power by federal government”.
KP CM, KP Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar, MNA Dr Arif Alvi and others were leading a large number of party lawmakers who marched from PTI’s Islamabad office to the Parliament building.
However, the protestors were stopped at the main gate of the Parliament House where the mob attempted to cross security barriers, prompting brief scuffles between the police and PTI lawmakers.
Addressing the sit-in, Khattak said, “All political parties, except the PML-N, are united for rights of people of KP. The federal government is selling inexpensive electricity at higher rates to KP.”