PESHAWAR: Experts have urged the Prime Minister to release the long-awaited developmental packages for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without any further delay, warning that continued postponement is badly affecting the province’s economy and infrastructure.
The package, which includes funds for motorways, inter-district roads, merged districts projects and hydel power-related schemes, has been pending for several months.
According to experts, KP contributes a major share in national hydel generation but gets a low share in development. Delay in the package means unemployment is rising, and the provincial annual development programme has already been cut. Politics should be separated from development.
Political observers said that since the last few years, KP has been facing political victimization. Whether there is one party in the province or another, people should not suffer. Delaying funds will only increase the sense of deprivation in merged tribal districts, and this is not good for national integration.
The business community said that major roads are in poor condition. Investors are not coming, and small traders are shifting to other provinces. Release of the package will create thousands of jobs. The demand is that the Prime Minister should announce a clear date.
Former bureaucrats said most of the projects are already approved at the highest level, and the delay is only in the release of funds. Resolution of the net hydel profit issue would provide big relief to the province. Youth representatives from northern districts said that there are no major hospitals and universities in remote areas. Youth have to go to Islamabad for jobs.
Development is a constitutional right, and the Prime Minister should visit the province and announce the package on ground. Sources in the federal capital said that the Prime Minister has directed to review all pending packages be reviewed, and a special meeting on KP will be held next week. The provincial finance department said it has written letters to the federal government but has not received a positive response yet. Experts demanded that all parliamentary parties from KP should unite for provincial rights beyond party politics.
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