K-P CM takes opposition into confidence on PTI’s plans

Says near-completion projects being prioritised, other schemes to be taken up after receiving NFC Award and royalties

PESHAWAR: In a positive move, the provincial chief executive took on board parliamentary leaders from opposition parties about development programmes in the province.

The meeting was held at the Chief Minister House in Peshawar on Tuesday with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan presiding.

The parliamentary leaders were led by Leader of the Opposition in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly Akram Khan Durrani along with Awami National Party’s (ANP) Sardar Hussain Babak and Khushdil Khan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sardar Yousaf and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Sher Azam Wazir, attended the meeting.

K-P Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani, Senior Minister Atif Khan, Provincial Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai were also present.

The meeting discussed at length the overall development strategy of the province which includes ongoing schemes in the education, health and irrigation sectors. Other projects discussed included the dualization of the Indus Highway, the motorway from Peshawar to Karachi, bypasses, the Swat Motorway, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) related projects including the Chashma lift irrigation scheme in Dera Ismail Khan, the extension of public sector entities to the newly merged districts of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), schemes in road communications, colleges, small dams, DDAC chairman, umbrella scheme, class-iv appointments, tourism and industrialization in the province.

The parliamentary leaders presented a set of proposals relating to the DDAC chairmanship of different districts, the share of the opposition in the umbrella scheme, class-iv employees and posting and transfers in constituencies of MPAs and other privileges.

Mahmood assured to evolve a clear and implementable strategy for genuine proposals and suggestions of the parliamentary leaders.

He added that his government — despite enjoying an overwhelming two-thirds majority in the house —will maintain healthy democratic traditions in order to provide relief to the people.

The chief minister reiterated that education and health will remain a priority for his government, as it had remained for the last Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

Simultaneously, he added, they will be focusing on widening the fiscal base of the province apart from strictly following a path of austerity.

“There will be no whimsical decisions but resources would be spent on public welfare, prosperity and development of the province. Transparency and merit would be upheld,” he assured.

The chief minister further disclosed that during a recent meeting with the higher education chairman, it had been decided to allocate resources at the disposal of the provincial government for higher education institutions since the provincial government better understands the needs and requirements of different educational institutions. He added that allocations to such institutions should be demand and need-driven.

He also promised to look into a proposal for setting up a female campus of the Hazara University in Jabba, Mansehra.

Mahmood further assured that a meeting will be convened with the Hazara Division Commissioner and Mansehra Deputy Commissioner to remove any hurdles in the allotment of residential plots to victims of the 2005 earthquake.

He also assured to resolve the problems in the voucher system employed by the elementary education foundation.

Mahmood, though, reiterated that his government was focusing on completing the near-to-completion ongoing schemes. Remaining projects will be taken up once K-P gets its share of resources from the federal government under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award along with the hydel and oil royalties.

“There will be a uniform developmental strategy and each and every area would get its due share in the developmental strategy,” Mahmood vowed.

Referring to the merged districts from erstwhile Fata, Mahmood said that the merger had posed new challenges but the provincial government has already extended services of some public sector entities to the new districts while the rest would be taken care of gradually.

He assured to soon hold a high-level meeting to properly assess the narrow fiscal base of the province and that it would be a baseline for accommodating suggestions of the opposition.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2018.