PM Imran Khan opens Hakla-Dera Ismail motorway

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated on Wednesday the Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway in Islamabad.

During his speech at the inauguration ceremony, the prime minister said the motorway will bring prosperity to the backward areas that were forgotten by the previous governments.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the eastern route of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has seen most development. One of the issues plaguing underdeveloped countries is that a handful of their population get richer while the rest struggle with poverty, he lamented.

PM Imran Khan said that a country where some areas are left behind in terms of development cannot progress, stressing that a long-term planning is vital for a country’s progress.

“The western route of CPEC will benefit the backward areas,” the prime minister pointed out. He said roads being built in 2021 cost far less than those built in 2013 despite the rising levels of inflation, which means someone was receiving kickbacks in the past.

He maintained that it has become clear that roads are built to make quick bucks. The National Highway Authority’s (NHA) revenue doubled after corruption was eliminated and its land worth over Rs5 billion was retrieved from land grabbers.

The prime minister was of the view that building roads in the backward areas will bring about a revolution.