ABBOTTABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday that the masses had rejected politics of sit-ins as they knew that the PML-N was working for a prosperous Pakistan.

“People will punish the Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in next general elections in 2018 for obstructing the process of development through sit-ins,” he said at a public meeting after performing the ground breaking of the 60km Hazara Expressway in Havelian.

Mr Sharif said that despite hurdles and problems created by the “aimless people who have miserably failed to deliver in KP”, the government was providing relief to the poor.

Ground breaking of Hazara Expressway performed

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was conspicuous by his absence from the ceremony. Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Abbasi and the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Syed Mehdi Shah, were present.

The prime minister said the government would build a network of highways and connect Pakistan with Afghanistan through a motorway to boost economic activities in the region.

“Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has agreed to join hands with Pakistan on a project to link Kabul with Peshawar through a motorway via Landi Kotal,” he added.

Mr Sharif said that the PML-N would fulfil commitments it had made during the last elections and turn the country into an “Asian tiger”.

According to APP, the prime minister announced the price of petrol would come down to Rs84.53 per litre from Rs94.16 — a reduction of Rs 9.63. He said the price of high octane was being slashed by Rs10.61, high speed diesel by Rs7.12 and kerosene by Rs4.34.

The prime minister said he expected that the price cut would lead to a decline in the prices of other items as well.

The decision, he hoped, would go down well with the participants of the sit-in (of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf) who “oppose every positive move”.

The prime minister said that Hazara region would be provided natural gas as soon as possible.

About the electricity shortage, Nawaz Sharif expressed hope that the problem would be solved with the installation of power plants at a total cost of $40 billion with Chinese assistance.

In addition, Bhasha and Dasu dams would generate 9,000MW as they are bigger than Tarbela and Mangla dams.

EXPRESSWAY: Highlighting importance of the Hazara Expressway, the prime minister said it would lay the seed of a “new Roshan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” and open new vistas of prosperity for the people of the province. “This province (KP) will be made an economic corridor for the Central Asian states.”

Work on Islamabad-Muzaffarabad rail track had started and the project would be completed during the tenure of this government, he said, adding that the track would be expanded from Havelian to the Northern Areas.

Talking about schools damaged by the 2005 earthquake, he said that 1,000 schools would be constructed in Hazara and Azad Kashmir at a cost of Rs8bn.

“The four-lane fenced expressway is a part of Pakistan-China Economic Corridor. It will cost Rs 33 billion, reduce the driving time between Islamabad and Havelian to 30 minutes and provide access to the Havelian dry port project,” he said.

The prime minister said that the area would serve as a hub of economic activity and its people would see a change in their lives soon.

The chairman of the National Highway Authority briefed the prime minister about the project.

Earlier on his arrival in Havelian, the prime minister was received by the KP governor, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, the Minister for Religious Affairs and the provincial president of the PML-N, Pir Sabir Shah.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2014