CM pledges free education for Shangla miners’ children
Chief Minister K-P Mahmood Khan
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Wednesday formally inaugurated the University of Shangla and announced free education for the children of coal mine workers.
Addressing media persons and a public gathering after the inaugural ceremony, the chief minister announced free education for children of coal mine workers at the university, adding that his government has been focusing on the uplift of backward districts of the province to ensure uniform development.
The establishment of Shangla University was a much needed project which will contribute greatly towards human development not only in Shangla but the whole adjacent region.
It is the desire and effort of the provincial government to ensure that the youth of this area are imparted with quality higher education instead of working in coal mines, he said.
Mahmood Khan clarified that the provincial government is committed to establishing tourism as an industry in the province in order to provide livelihood opportunities and enable people to a living in their respective districts.
Regarding the kidnapping of coal mine workers of Shangla in Balochistan province, the chief minister clarified that the K-P government is in touch with the Balochistan government and expressed hope that the kidnapped workers will be recovered soon.
The chief minister said that despite the financial constraints created by the ‘imported’ federal government, the provincial government is fully committed to completing the development activities in the province within the stipulated time frame.
However, he said that his government has already communicated its concerns to the federal government and made it clear that if K-P didn’t get the legitimate rights of the province, then PTI would not refrain from staging a sit-in in front of the National Assembly.
He also announced that the “true independence march” from K-P would move on Saturday towards Iqbal Park in Rawalpindi and said that provincial ministers and MPAs would be leading the march from their respective constituencies. CM maintained that the government is going all-out to ensure access to education.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2022.