ISLAMABAD: The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak, urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday to provide financial assistance for development projects to his province and transfer the Pesco chief who locked horns with a provincial minister.

Mr Khattak, who had been seeking a meeting with the prime minister for several weeks, called on Mr Sharif at the latter’s office. He was accompanied by Senior Minister Sirajul Haq and the PM by Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar.

Development projects for KP topped the agenda of the meeting. The chief minister asked the premier to spare special funds for the purpose, officials at the prime minister office told Dawn.

Mr Sirajul Haq said the ongoing projects of Lowari Tunnel, dams in Chitral and Dir and an expressway from Abbottabad to Hassanabdal had come under discussion and the prime minister assured that steps would be taken for speedy work on the schemes.

“Particularly, we asked the prime minister to immediately release funds for Lowari Tunnel because it is the lifeline for the people of Chitral valley which becomes inaccessible during winter,” he said. The prime minister asked the finance minister to do the needful.

About the transfer of Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) chief Tariq Sadozai, the KP minister said the provincial government had already raised the issue with Islamabad. A jirga sponsored by the provincial government comprising leaders of different political parties, which was held in Islamabad on Monday, had called for Mr Sadozai’s transfer. The prime minister is aware of the issue.

Pesco has alleged that electricity theft is being committed with the connivance of provincial ministers. Last weekend, KP Information Minister Shah Farman “raided” the residence of the Pesco chief and accused him of being involved in power theft.

Mr Haq said the chief minister offered his government’s cooperation to the federal government for holding talks with militants.