Summary to merge culture department

The summary has been floated with the consent of the provincial ministries

PESHAWAR: The provincial government has sent a summary to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to merge the culture department with the provincial information ministry. Subjects of sport and tourism will remain with the youth ministry.

The summary was floated with the consent of the provincial ministries.

The Awami National Party (ANP) government had largely overlooked the culture department. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government led by former chief minister Pervez Khattak had merged the tourism and sports department.

A source in the information and culture department told The Express Tribune that previously, artists of the province did not have any formal channel to register their complaints. They were even ignored by the previous PTI led government.

To address the grievances of artists, the source said that it was decided to merge the culture department with the information ministry.

“We want to provide a conducive environment to artists of the province and address their grievances,” the source stated.

The move was confirmed by K-P information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai. However, he added that the chief minister and the provincial cabinet has yet to approve the summary.

The decision will benefit the artists of the province, allowing us to positively address their issues, the provincial information minister said.  

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2019.