Till I am here, people of KP will have the first right to its resources: Kundi

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi asserted that the people of the province had the first right to its resources.

“No one should think that foreigners will come and loot this province. Till I am here, the people of the province will have the first right to its resources,” he said while addressing a ceremony in Peshawar.

Kundi added that a third party from outside KP, whether a foreigner or from Pakistan, may enter into a joint venture with the people of the province if willing.

The governor, who has assumed the administrative control of KP following the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in the province, assured that his first priority was the protection of the people of KP, then of the province itself and then Pakistan.

His assertions follow allegations by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman that the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in KP was linked to government’s motive to take control of its resources.

He had also questioned the government’s position on mineral resources during a National Assembly session earlier this week, when he had criticised the Centre over emergency and governor’s rule in KP.

Meanwhile claims have been circulating on social media that KP’s minerals would be given or sold to the US.

Kundi, without making any specific mentions, said in his address that several reports would be circulating in the media and social media, but his priority was the protection of the people of KP.

He said this after outlining the diversity of KP’s resources.

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