Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday performed the groundbreaking ceremony of a gas project worth nearly Rs3.9 billion in Kohat city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where his rival Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is in government.

"This is not a small project — has anyone done this for Kohat before? Who has spoken about gas for kohat before - the project is being launched today," the premier said.

"4 billion rupees is nothing, Nawaz Sharif will even give his life for you," the prime minister said.

In his address, the prime minister also promised to open a hospital in Kohat and launch a project of free treatment.

"I will make a state-of-the-art hospital here. Your children will not have to go to Islamabad and Rawalpindi for treatment, treatment will be provided to them here,” he said. "Nobody will have to sell their assets for treatment."

"Kohat, Pindi Gheb will be joined by a highway... you will become closer to Islamabad and Peshawar."

He said orders for the construction of the highway have been given to the chairman of National Highways Authority, who was present during the address.

A campus of Kohat University for women will be constructed, the prime minister announced.

'We will bring change in KP'

To roaring applause, Nawaz said a railcar service will be launched from Rawalpindi to Kohat and back.

"CPEC is being made, it will bring prosperity and progress to Pakistan," Nawaz said, adding that loadshedding will be "finished forever" by 2018.

Saying Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be changed for good, he vowed: "We will bring that change."

Taking a jibe at the opposition, he said: "The opposition are worried that if Pakistan remains on this path to success their political careers will end by 2018."

"They have not done anything in KPK over the past three years. The PML-N government will come to power in KPK in 2018," the premier added.

Nawaz's visit to Kohat comes at a time when the the opposition party, PTI, and the ruling PML-N have locked horns over the Panamagate scandal.

PTI has announced plans to lay siege on the capital on Nov 2 "at any cost" if by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif doesn’t agree to an investigation into the Panama Papers leaks, under the terms of reference proposed by the opposition, or resign from his position.