Gandapur terms ‘K-P uplift’ PTI’s priority

CM-designate says there will be no revenge politics

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister-designate Ali Amin Gandapur has vowed that the PTI government will restart the process of development in the province.

He said that the Sehat Insaf Card would be reinstated for the welfare of the general public and the law and order situation was also the first priority of his government.

Talking to former provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai and newly elected members of the provincial assembly Fazal Hakeem Khan, Idrees Khatta and Muhammad Naeem on Saturday, he said that the closing of panahgahs (shelter homes) for the poor people by the previous government was not a good decision and that it would be reversed.

“Bringing the far-flung districts of the province at par with the rest of the province in development is my top priority,” he said, adding that the backward districts would be quickly developed to address their deprivations.

“Let me tell you we will establish a lasting peace at any cost as law and order is also our first priority,” he maintained, adding that the province would be made attractive for foreign investors.

There were many difficulties as there was a government at the Center which was against the PTI but still they would try their level best to get the rights of the province from the federation, he shared, adding that without getting all the rights of the province it was very difficult to put the province on the path of development.

“We will negotiate the matter of the provincial rights with the federal government and solve this problem,” he said. “Ending the free medical treatment on Sehat Insaf Card by the caretaker government was really painful for me as it concerned mostly the poor people,” he said, adding that panagahs for the poor were also closed down without any logic by the caretakers.

He made it clear that all those schemes would be restored by the new PTI government in the province, adding that there would be no revenge politics in K-P by his government.

“There will be no repeat of what happened in the province during the caretaker government’s period. There will be no revenge,” he argued.

“Our focus will be on the development of the province and there will be no space for revenge,” he noted, saying that he would also advise his party workers and friends to forget about the past.

“The PTI government will not tolerate any obstacle in the way of development in this province. We will work day and night for the development and uplift of this province and my team will also follow me,” he observed, adding that the first priority would always be solving the problems faced by the general public.

Earlier, Gandapur had warned police officers and returning officers repeatedly for their involvement in poll rigging as well as raiding the houses of PTI workers and harassing the women and children during these raids.

He said that strict action would be taken against those ROs who were involved in ‘poll management’.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2024.