PM inaugurates Hoshab-Sorab highway
TURBAT:Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that a new Balochistan and a new Pakistan is in the making as a result of massive development under taken in the country.
“ We have laid solid foundation for a new Balochistan and new Pakistan in the last three years as 2016 Pakistan is different from 2013 and 2018 Pakistan will be better from 2016” Nawaz Sharif said while inaugurating 448 km Hoshab-Sorab highway under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) in Turbat today.
The 448 kilometer road,which is important component of the Western Corridor of CPEC, has been completed at a cost of over 22 billion rupees to link Gwadar Port with National Highway network. It will also provide shortest link to Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics.
The Prime Minister said the Hoshab-Sorab highway under CPEC would prove to be a game changer for the region. Lamenting that the province had largely been deprived of development in the past, the premier said the Hoshab-Sorab highway will be an important part of the western route of CPEC.
Nawaz Sharif said the new roads being build in Balochistan give a message of hope as his government has decided to change the scenario of Balochistan which is the right of every person . He said the province has vast resources which could be utilized not only for the province but the whole country.
Drawing attention to the benefits of CPEC, the prime minister said economic activity will increase across Pakistan through traffic between Khunjerab and Gwadar. CPEC will offer new avenues for growth and opportunities in the region, he said.
The Prime minister said Gwadar linkage with Quetta and Khunjrab has become a reality as the distance has been reduced between Gwadar and Quetta to only eight hours as compared to two days of journey. Nawaz Sharif expressed resolve of the Government to transform the entire socio-economic landscape of Balochistan.
He described completion of this vital project as making of a new Balochistan and new Pakistan. He expressed the confidence that its completion would create enormous economic and commercial activities and help overcome the challenge of poverty, backwardness, ignorance and unemployment in the region.
The Prime Minister said developmental activities are visible in each and every corner of the country. A number of motorways, highways and roads besides bridges and other infrastructure projects are being undertaken in different areas.
He said a number of power plants are coming up and as a consequence the country would get rid of the menace of load-shedding.
He said they have to make Pakistan not only economically but morally a respectable country.
The Prime Minister said his Government is pursuing the path of economic development while its opponents are only indulging in negative politics.
Taking aim at the opposition, the prime minister said those who sling mud cannot serve the nation; they can only entertain the crowds.
“The public will decide who is serving them and who is simply playing with their emotions,” he said, adding that enemies of the state want to harm CPEC. He said creating uncertainty among the youth will serve no purpose and people will decide who is playing with the sentiments of the youth and who is delivering in the 2018 elections.
The premier paid tribute to the people who had lost their lives constructing roads under CPEC.
He also announced construction of a new road linking Khushab to Awaran and Lasbela and another road between Panjgur and Prom. The new roads will be constructed by the federal and Balochistan governments, he added.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri thanked the Prime Minister for his keen interest in the welfare of people of Balochistan. He said the province is witnessing concrete proof of development projects.
Director General FWO Lt General Mohammad Afzal explained the salient features of the project and said it has been completed in two years and three months against the target of four years.
The function was attended by Balochistan Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai, former Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch, Federal Ministers Abdul Qadir Baloch, Ahsan Iqbal, Corps Commander Lt General Aamar Riaz and senior civil and military officials.
