Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said the decision of Khyber Pakthunkwa government to take the issue of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to court was unrealistic as it would create difficulties for the province.

Foreign investment could not be attracted through courts rather such an action would have a negative impact in that regard, he said in a statement.

Iqbal questioned as to why the KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had suddenly taken a U-turn after supporting the mega project at the summit on CPEC held on August 29.

All the provinces were being given equal opportunities in the CPEC, he maintained.

The development minister said through CPEC the under-developed and backward areas would get even more benefit from the mega project.

“The national level project of CPEC should not be used for party politics,” he added.

The KP chief minister had alleged that the federal government was cheating federating units of the country on CPEC project.

He said that CPEC project was conceptually initiated by Mushrraf-led government but when PML-N came into power, it initiated different projects in Punjab keeping the rest of federating units in darkness.

Khattak had claimed that the federal government diverted almost the entire amount of $46 billion to projects in Punjab.

He was of the view that work on western route should be initiated and completed first.

"The KP government won’t allow the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to pass through the province if the western route was not made its part," he had said.

Editorial

Updated 12 Aug, 2026

Mideast outreach

OVER the past few days, Pakistan has been going the extra mile to assure Iran that the Makkah Joint Defence ...
12 Aug, 2026

Nutrition emergency

MALNUTRITION has become one of the biggest obstacles to Pakistan’s development. Around 40pc of children under five...
12 Aug, 2026

Housing deficit

THE federal cabinet’s zoning directive has the potential to be the most consequential decision in the redefinition...
Updated 11 Aug, 2026

Equal citizens

Religious minorities continue to face mob violence, attacks on their places of worship, forced conversions and social and economic exclusion.
Updated 11 Aug, 2026

Tel Aviv’s subterfuge

These verbal gymnastics indicate that Tel Aviv has no intention of ending its occupation of the Strip.
11 Aug, 2026

Abandoned after floods

THREE years after the 2022 floods submerged a third of Pakistan, more than 134,000 verified affected families in...