MANSEHRA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led federal government and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf provincial government are claiming credit for gravity flow water supply scheme to be completed with financial assistance from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“The funds for this over Rs22 billion gravity water supply scheme are approved and the tendering process has been completed. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by the Saudi ambassador, will perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the project in the Kaghan Valley,” former MNA Mohammad Safdar told reporters here on Friday.

Mr Safdar said that federal minister Sardar Mohammad Yusuf would announce the prime minister’s schedule for the ceremony to be held in Shogran area of Kaghan Valley.

“This scheme was approved by the PML-N government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was initially expected to execute the project at a cost of Rs4 billion. However, due to delays and the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, the estimated cost has now risen to Rs22 billion and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is financing it,” he said.

Former PML-N MPA Sardar Zahoor said the gravity water supply scheme was approved by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly speaker Babar Saleem Swati claimed that the project was an initiative of the provincial government.

“I got this project approved during the PTI’s government in the centre and now the provincial government is contributing 40 per cent of the project’s cost, while the remaining funds are being provided by the Saudi government,” he said.

Mr Swati claimed that the provincial government would officially launch the project with a groundbreaking ceremony.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2026