KARAK, June 18: The local PTI lawmakers have resolved to take up the issue of shifting of the proposed oil refinery from Karak to Kohat in parliament. They said the decision would pitch the people of the two districts against each other.

Talking to Dawn on Tuesday, PTI MPA Gul Sahib Khan said the shifting of the project from Karak to any other area was against the national and international laws as 75 per cent of oil and gas reserves were discovered in Karak. “This mega project is the right of the people of Karak,” he said. He said the lawmakers from Karak would not compromise on the rights of the people.

He said the government should establish a world class research institute of petrochemicals in the Khushal Khan Khattak University in Karak to reap long term benefits from the oil and gas reserves.

PTI MPA Malik Qasim told Dawn that he had talked to the party MNA from Karak Nasir Khan Khattak in this regard and that he had proposed that the oil refinery should be established on the border with Kohat to facilitate the people of both the districts.

The lawmaker said construction of a canal from Indus River to Karak had been included in the Annual Development Programme of the province. “The canal, once completed, will bring a green revolution to the district, changing lives of the people for the better,” he said.