MPA accused of playing politics on Lowari tunnel

DORSH, Jan 9: Former president of Chitral Student Association president Iqbal Murtaza has said that former KPK minister Saleem Khan was trying to get publicity on the issue of the Lowari tunnel. In a statement here, he said Saleem Khan remained a provincial minister for full five years when his party was in power both in KP and Islamabad. However, during this period he miserably failed to even utter a word to get the under-construction tunnel completed. Even he remained oblivious to the transfer of funds allocated for the Lowari tunnel to Multan and Gujar Khan by two former prime ministers of the PPP. During the five-year rule of the PPP, work on the tunnel also remained suspended but Saleem Khan continued enjoying his ministry and had no scant sympathy with the suffering of the people of Chitral. Now when the federal and the provincial governments have allocated work and restarted the stalled work on the Lowari tunnel, Saleem Khan has become active by holding protest demonstrations and press conference asking the government to open the tunnel on a daily basis. The statement said the people of Chitral cannot be hoodwinked on the hollow slogans because they know very well who is sincere with them and who is out to mislead them. The former student said had Saleem Khan been sincere with the people of Chitral, the Lowari tunnel project would have long been completed and the Chitralis would not be suffering from the daily troubles they are facing these days.]]>