ISLAMABAD: Chief Minister of Balochistan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri has stated that people will not compromise on the development process initiated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

People like Imran Khan are involved in politics of protests and sit-in just to slow down the development process such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which was sure to usher in prosperity for the people of the province, he said on Saturday at a press conference at the Balochistan House.

Sardar Zehri said that the people of the federal capital and other provinces were not aware of the extent of progress the province had witnessed particularly after 2013. He praised the federal government for taking initiatives for the province.

The province, besides being hit by terrorism from 2002 to 2011, was totally ignored by previous governments, he said, adding that the present government approved a number of projects, including 12 mega projects under the CPEC which would change the fate of Balochistan.

A 350MW power plant in Gwadar and 620MW in Gadani were among the projects while some 25,000 new jobs had also been sanctioned for Gwadar projects. Youth would be recruited on merit, he added.

The recently-built road network had begun reflecting major changes, Nawab Zehri said while explaining that it used to take two and a half days to cover the distance between Gwadar and Quetta which now took only six hours.

Published in Dawn January 22nd, 2017