PM Nawaz expected to visit Chitral on Jan 28

CHITRAL, Jan 25: In what is being seen as a major breakthrough in kick starting stalled development projects in Chitral, especially the Lowari Tunnel, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to visit the district on January 28 (Tuesday), sources told ChitralToday here on Saturday. They said Chief Minister KPK Pervez Khattak would also arrive in Chitral to welcome the prime minister. The sources said Nawaz Sharif will first land at the Lowari Tunnel and would announce to provide the needed funds to complete the mega project by 2017. Later, he will fly in a helicopter to Chitral where a welcome ceremony would be arranged in his honour. Besides the already launched projects, the prime minister is also expected to review the youth business loan scheme in Chitral. When contacted, MNA Shahzada Iftikharuddin confirmed that the prime minister was expected to visit Chitral on Tuesday. He said it was the result of the forceful pressure being put on the government regarding the allocation of the needed funds for the Lowari Tunnel and other projects in Chitral.

We will put no new demand to the prime minister. We will request him to provide at least four billion rupees per year to get the Lowari Tunnel ready by 2017. Besides, the Booni-Shandur road, Booni-Buzund road and the Atahk water channel projects need allocation of funds for completion,  MNA Iftikharuddin.

He said he had been continuously working through different channels to get the federal government realize the importance of the Lowari tunnel as a national project and complete it as soon as possible. He said besides other sources he had also approached Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai to persuade Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that the people of Chitral were not against any politician. Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the first to launch work on the tunnel project and due to this the Chitralis still have highest regard for him and have been voting his party for the last over many decades. Pervez Musharraf relaunched the abandoned tunnel project in 2005 and at the time of his exit in 2008 about 40 per cent work on the project was complete. Nawaz Sharif can also win the hearts of the Chitralis by allocating the needed funds to complete the project on time, the MNA told Mr Achakzai. He said Mr Achakzai had accompanied Nawaz Sharif during the latter’s visit to Kabul a few months back and on the return flight he had the opportunity to convey him the issues and reservations of the Chitralis. Mr Achakzai later told MNA Iftikharuddin that the prime minister had promised to have a briefing from the NHA and approve funds for the timely completion of the Lowari Tunnel project. Later, the meeting of the NHA officials was cancelled twice due to some unavoidable circumstances. Now the prime minister has decided to personally visit the site of the Lowari Tunnel and visit Chitral, he added.]]>