Govt is not opposing CPEC, Pervez Khattak tells NA

ISLAMABAD: Responding to the points raised by Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif regarding CPEC, Defense Minister Pervez Khattak firmly rejected the impression that the incumbent government is opposing CPEC, the mega corridor project.

Speaking on the floor of the house, Khattak said that, he is living in a rented house and satisfied whatever God has blessed him with.

“Being the chief minister of KP in the last government, only demanded province’s due share in the CPEC,” he said. Mr Khattak rejected the impression that the cost of Peshawar Bus rapid transit system is higher than those constructed in Punjab and Islamabad. He said buses for Islamabad-Rawalpindi metro bus project were taken on rent, but the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had purchased the buses for the BRT.

The minister maintained that he has no role in leasing of forest department’s land in Malam Jabba, adding that he will appear before the bureau to clear his position without hue and cry.

Earlier today, Shehbaz Sharif while addressing National Assembly said the Billion Tree Tsunami, Malam Jabba, and KP Accountability Commission scandals are not hidden from anyone, nor is the Peshawar Metro Bus scam.

NAB has done nothing about these scandals, complained the opposition leader.

He said though Defence Minister Pervez Khattak had criticized CPEC in the past, China is desperate to meet us with all heartiness. “We need to quit container politics and instead focus on the country’s politics.”

Malam Jabba Scandal

An alleged illegal lease of 275 acres of Forest Department land in Malam Jabba emerged as a mega scandal in KP, during last tenure of government in the province.

Political personalities and the bureaucracy allegedly connived to lease out Forests Department’s protected land to a private company, for 33 years, without caring for rules and regulations, for construction of Chairlift and skiing resort, stated in official record.

On April 15, 2015, former chairman of the Ehtesab Commission, General (retd) Hamid Khan, expressed his serious reservations over the agreement and asked the government to review it. The CM Inspection Team had also termed the agreement illegal and launched investigation into it.

The post Govt is not opposing CPEC, Pervez Khattak tells NA appeared first on ARYNEWS.

Comments

Accountability court hears assets case against Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday resumed the hearing of a reference filed against former finance minister Ishaq Dar by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for allegedly accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income. Judge Muhammad Bashir is recording the statement of a prosecution witness, Ishtiaq Ahmed. At the previous hearing, the accountability judge had reserved his verdict on an application filed by two co-accused seeking acquittal in the case. Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi, who are directors of Dar’s companies, had filed the application requesting the judge to exonerate them from all charges for want of evidence. Qazi Misbah, the counsel for the two co-accused, contended the prosecution has failed to provide compelling evidence to prove the allegations leveled against his clients. The third co-accused President National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Saeed Ahmed, had already filed an application before the court for his acquittal wh...

SFA raids several restaurants in Karachi, imposes fine

KARACHI: The Sindh Food Authority (SFA) on Friday raided several restaurants in city’s North Nazimabad area over unhygienic conditions, ARY News reported. According to the SFA, one of the restaurants was found utilizing the used oil multiple times. The items were also not properly frozen while crockery for serving the food was also not clean. The team imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the restaurant. The SFA team found hygiene standards were sheerly compromised in food making to the core. The food inspectors said they had previously served notices to the food outlets, but the restaurant owners apparently turned a blind eye to it. Raids were also conducted in district Malir and Gulshan-e-Hadeed. Sanitary conditions and lack of fumigation facilities were found at the restaurants in some of the Malir outlets. The SFA team also raided a bakery ‘Friend Bakers’ and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 over poor hygiene. Similarly another roadside restaurant was fined Rs 20,000 for neglecting he...

Trump says US generals feel Beirut blast was likely an ‘attack’

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday cast a massive explosion in Beirut as a possible attack, despite statements by Lebanese leaders that it was likely caused by highly explosive material that had been stored at warehouses in the capital for years. “The United States stands ready to assist Lebanon,” Trump said at a White House briefing of Tuesday’s explosion, which killed at least 78 people and injured thousands. “It looks like a terrible attack.” When asked later about his depiction of the explosion, Trump said that he had met with some U.S. generals who feel the blast was not “some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event.” He told reporters that according to these unnamed generals “they seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind.” The Pentagon referred questions to the White House. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was unclear where Trump was receiving his information but that initial information did not appear...

Siasat Wala Blog

Search This Blog