KP to approach court over western route of CPEC today

PESHAWAR: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has decided to approach the Peshawar High Court on Monday over the western route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Speaker KP Assembly Asad Qaisar would submit a writ petition in the court, on whether the western route of the CPEC is part of the project.

The decision was taken after a meeting on Sunday at the Chairman Secretariat in Islamabad which was also attended by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.

Spokesman KP government Mushtaq Ghani, while speaking to ARY News said the application would be based on the resolution unanimously adopted by the provincial assembly.

He said that the federal government had promised to give KP a share of the project which was not fulfilled and that the province was being neglected.

However, federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal dispelled the impression that the KP was being neglected and said that it would benefit the less developed and backward areas of the country.

In a statement, he said that the KP govt cannot be prevented from approaching the court, but the decision would create problems for the province itself as foreign investment is not attracted through courts.

The minister said the construction work on the western route of the corridor was underway with a full swing and Gwadar-Quetta road would be completed before the stipulated time.