Centre committed to K-P's development: PM

Says govt 'fully aware' of problems faced by province

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that the timely completion of federally funded development projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the resolution of public issues were among the top priorities of the incumbent government.

He said the federal government was "fully aware" of the problems faced by the people of K-P and was taking tangible steps within its jurisdiction to ensure sustainable solutions.

The prime minister expressed these views in a meeting with K-P political representatives, the PM Office Media Wing said in a statement.

During the meeting, a detailed discussion was held on the overall political situation in the province and the issues faced by the public.

Matters related to public welfare, development projects and governance were also discussed.

The meeting was attended by DPM/FM Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar, Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Minister Amir Muqam, Adviser to the PM Rana Sanaullah, Captain (retd.) Safdar, MNAs Babar Nawaz and Samar Bilour, Ikhtiar Wali (Coordinator to the Prime Minister), former deputy speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi, former senator Zahid Khan, MPA Ibadullah, Pir Sabir Shah, former MNA Sardar Mushtaq, former MNA Shah Jee Gul Afridi, Shahabuddin Khan, Rehmat Salam Khattak and Behramand Tangi.

The participants of the meeting claimed the provincial government had "failed entirely" due to "poor governance".

The provincial government had no clear policy regarding health, education, infrastructure or public welfare and it was paying no attention to resolve public issues, they said.

The prime minister urged the public representatives to give priority to the resolution of public problems, adding a while ago, laptops were distributed by him, on merit, among the male and female students from K-P in Haripur.

He also expressed his pleasure in meeting the young people, describing them as Pakistan's future asset. He stressed that the policy of distributing laptops on merit would continue to help them play their due role in the country's development.

Regarding federal government's sponsored uplift projects in K-P, the prime minister announced the formation of a committee headed by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal.

The committee would visit Peshawar and in coordination with public representatives review progress on these projects.