RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, said that Pakistan and its KP province would be the biggest beneficiary of peaceful Afghanistan.

“Pakistan will get access to Central Asia through peaceful Afghanistan and Peshawar will be turned into a hub of business activities,” he said, talking to the media, here on Sunday.

The KP minister said that foreign policy of the PTI-led government is very much clear. He cited that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s response to US President’s disgusting tweet compelled the latter to change attitude towards Pakistan. He said US administration is now imploring for Pakistan’s cooperation to persuade Afghan Taliban for talks. He welcomed Taliban-US negotiations for Afghan peace.

Yousafzai said that incumbent government was moving in right direction and thieves and looters would face accountability. He ridiculed the PML-N leaders’ assertion that democracy was under threat, saying that whenever their money trail was sought, they use the slogan ‘democracy under threat’ as a shield to escape accountability.

The KP minister said that the promotion of tourism would usher economic revolution and people would get employment opportunities. On his native district, Shangla, he said, the area had been miserably ignored in past. He identified corruption as main cause of the backwardness of the area. He said that due to lack of employment opportunities, 70 percent youth of the district were forced to work in the coalmines of Quetta, Hyderabad and Darra Adamkhel.

“The government has begun work on introducing effective legislation for the rights of the coalmine workers,” he said. Yousafzai further said that people of Shangla would be provided clean drinking water, cemented streets and cricket ground as well.