Shows reservations on priority to eastern route over shorter western route
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah has written a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and apprised him of reservations about the alleged change in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route.
In the letter, Khursheed Shah said, “Sindh is being deliberately neglected in CPEC project which will increase anger among other provinces against Punjab.”
Shah said that eastern route under the CPEC is being given priority while the western route which is shorter is being ignored.
He said Sindh contributes 60 per cent of the country’s revenue, which also includes major gas reservoirs, therefore, neglecting this province is unfair.
Shah termed CPEC a once in a lifetime opportunity for Pakistan and said that the entire country should equally benefit from the multi-billion-dollar project.
He asked the premier to adhere to the decisions reached at an all-party conference (APC) held over the project in May this year. Shah also objected on the preference given to the construction of the eastern route, and objected to the shorter western route being ignored.
He demanded that the government revisit its policies and priorities regarding execution of the CPEC and other development projects ‘in order to keep the federation intact’ adding that the objective can only be achieved by taking all the federating units into confidence and ratifying their reservations.
On the other hand, the opposition has walked out of the Senate today against government’s irresponsible attitude. The opposition had expected an answer from the government regarding their reservations. They added that the promises made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were not being fulfilled
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s (PkMAP) Usman Khan Kakkar said that not one project has been announced on the western route of the corridor.
