SWABI: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq on Saturday said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should participate in the May 12 Islamabad sit-in of provincial assembly members against changes to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and prolonged power outages in the province.

Addressing a public meeting in Karnal Sher Killi here, the JI chief said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ignored lawmakers of the province during the recent visit of the Chinese president to the country.

He said it was ironic that the Punjab chief minister, younger brother of the prime minister, was invited to the functions attended by the Chinese president but chief ministers of other provinces were ignored.

Siraj said the Pakistan-China economic corridor project promised the country’s rapid industrial progress but ignoring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by changing the route would have far-reaching impact on the project.

He said the reported changes to Gwadar-Kashgar Road project had caused a sense of deprivation among the people of the province and therefore, the federal government should reverse such changes.

The JI chief demanded that the federal government immediately make its position clear on the crucial issue and that the sooner the better.

He said whenever the prime minister visited China, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif accompanied him but unfortunately, the chief ministers of other provinces were ignored.

Siraj complained about the excessive power loadshedding in the province and said the Peshawar Electric Supply Company had resorted to the prolonged power outages to the misery of the people.

He said members of the ruling coalition would stand by the people of the province against the ‘discrimination.’

The JI chief said the ruling coalition had the capability to sweep the upcoming local body elections as it had lived up to the expectations of the people during the last two years.

He said the JI workers had been working day and night as part of the campaign for the imminent local body elections. Siraj appealed to the people to vote for candidates of the ruling coalition for their better service in future.

The JI district leaders also addressed the meeting.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play