QWP announces education, health centric manifesto

Burns hospital to be set up in each division wards in every DHQ hospital

PESHAWAR: In a bid to compete with the outgoing government, the QWP has stated that education and health would be at the top of its agenda, should it come into power.

This was stated as the Quami Watan Party (QWP) unveiled their election manifesto on Wednesday which covers almost all sectors while according top priority to education and health. The manifesto was unveiled by QWP provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Sherpao, party leader Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, party members Barrister Mansoor and other party leaders.



Education has been kept as a priority for the party in the manifesto. The QWP, though, plans to make the education sector completely autonomous. To improve access to higher education, it said that sub-campuses of universities would be established in every district, Moreover, it announced plans of enhancing the budget for elementary and secondary education by 100 per cent.

The QWP also plans to focus on educating girls and specially-abled people.

On the health front, the QWP has aimed at what has turned out to be the soft underbelly of the provincial health department, and especially the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

The QWP has stated that it intends to establish state a modern burn hospital in every division of the province while four rooms would be reserved for burns patients in each district headquarters hospital where latest equipment would be available for the treatment of these patients.

The party also mentioned in their manifesto that they will accord special focus to enhancing sporting activities in the province and establish and modern sports complexes in every district apart from building sports grounds in every union council.

In this regard, it said that with support from partner organisations, it will host tournaments for different games while special arrangement would be for female players at these games.

Realising the youth bulge and the pressure of unemployment, the QWP said that it will try and create jobs for the youth. In this regard, it hopes to set up industrial zones in the province where both men and women would get jobs opportunities.

The party curiously stated that they will use provincial resources in these industries.



Moreover, it said that it would help provide equal opportunities to residents of both rural and urban areas without any discrimination, while the party would try to uplift backward areas of the province.

The party also seeks to embark on the ‘demonstration development’ model made famous by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of building big observable projects, promising to build roads, bridges and hotels. The QWP explains that this is part of their plan to make the province more attractive — particularly for tourists so that they can ‘easily visit the province without any fear and get all the facilities in every district’.

With the PTI getting the leg up on its rivals through the Billion Tree Tsunami project and with climate change-related natural disasters ravaging the province over the past eight years, the QWP has promised to work on the environment.

In this regard, it claims it will accord special focus to environmental changes as per international standards.

The party also promises to uplift the state of journalists in the province by creating a separate television station apart from setting up a media city in the province where journalists would be provided with different facilities.

The party also claimed to provide special focus would accorded to the mines and mineral sector of the province and properly utilise it for the uplift of the province and its citizens.

Even as the top jurist of the country called for building major dams, the QWP said it plans to go another route to store water and mitigate drought: building 200 small dams in the province.

Moreover, it promised to complete construction of the Munda Dam and Chashma Lift Canal Dam.

Equal opportunities would be provided to women in every sector while the party would work for the uplift of women in the province.

Moreover, it claimed that they would devolve power to the local level so that people can resolve their problems at the village levels.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2018.