LOWER DIR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Saturday claimed that several at he federal government’s alleged failure to issue no objection certificates and because of what he described as a “complicated mechanism”.

He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 40.8MW Koto Hydropower Project here. The project has been completed at a cost of Rs21.7 billion.

The event was attended by current and former Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNAs and MPAs from Lower and Upper Dir, and Bajaur, officials of the district administration, Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation and party workers.

Mr Afridi said the centre had to pay Rs3 trillion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in net hydel profit. “If we get this sum, we will make more development here,” he remarked.

Inaugurates 40.8MW Koto hydropower project in Dir

Earlier, power and energy secretary Mohammad Zubair Khan briefed the participants about the project, saying it was expected to generate an annual profit of Rs2.4 billion. He added besides Koto, the Karora and Jabori hydropower projects would also be inaugurated soon, bringing a combined Rs4.4 billion into the national exchequer.

Sohail Afridi said KP had immense potential for generating cheap electricity, adding that providing affordable power to future generations had been part of the PTI founder Imran Khan’s vision.

The chief minister alleged that “terrorism had been imposed” on KP, badly affecting the province’s economy. He claimed the province had been turned into a “laboratory for experiments”. “Whenever we speak about peace and negotiations, we are linked with someone else,” he remarked.

Discussing the energy sector, he said the provincial government was laying a 120km-long transmission line which, according to him, would directly benefit consumers.

The chief minister said that the transmission line once completed would enable the transmission of electricity generated from 11 local power stations to industries. “The power produced by local hydropower plants will be supplied to industries at concessional rates, as industrial expansion is essential for reducing unemployment.”

Later, addressing a large public gathering at the Timergara Rest House ground, the chief minister criticised state institutions, claiming that shortly after a jirga at the provincial assembly, “our guests were whisked away”, which he said violated Pakhtun traditions. He added that neither the PTI founder nor his supporters could be intimidated through pressure or threats.

He said he was still not being allowed to meet his imprisoned leader despite court orders. Without naming anyone, he said: “Your bullets may run out, but our chests will not.”

PTI provincial president and MNA Junaid Akbar Khan, MNA Mehboob Shah, Shahid Khattak, Malik Liaqat Ali, Malik Shafiullah and others also spoke at the event. Throughout the gathering, party workers repeatedly chanted slogans asking the chief minister to “move ahead, we are with you”.

Although local lawmakers presented a lengthy list of development demands, the chief minister made no formal announcement during his speech.

Later, the MPAs told reporters that Mr Afridi had taken the list with him and would discuss it with them in detail.

In his fiery address, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar told the federal government that any further constitutional amendments would “only increase people’s resentment”, adding that the state could not weaken PTI workers’ loyalty or diminish their affection for Imran Khan.

A statement issued from the chief minister’s secretariat in Peshawar stated that the Koto project had been completed at a total cost of Rs21.7 billion and was expected to generate 207 million units of electricity annually, bringing an estimated revenue of Rs2.4 billion per annum.

Besides, it said that Mr Afridi also inaugurated the 18.5km Tormang-Razgram Road, constructed at a cost of Rs1.5 billion.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2025