Bring it on : Coalition govt set to tackle challenges in tandem

PML-N dissident Babar Saleem Khan joins PTI.

PESHAWAR:

The new government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) reiterated on Wednesday that law and order, corruption and power outages were the most serious challenges it needed to resolve.

Speaking at a joint meeting of the members of coalition parties at the Officers Mess, following the oath-taking ceremony for MPAs, K-P chief minister designate Pervaiz Khan Khattak said they would take the three coalition parties on board and succeed in addressing problems through collective effort.

“Law and order, corruption and power outages are the most serious challenges for the government along with the issues of inflation, poverty and unemployment,” said the chief minister-to-be. Khattak expressed hope that sincere efforts on the part of the coalition partners would help them come together for the next elections.

Referring to the previous governments in the province, Khattak said politics needs a lot of experience, but the experienced governments could not deliver. “The young and new faces will correct the system and work towards a better present and future for the nation,” he said.



“We will take all measures possible for development for the people. I myself met with the opposition leaders and invited them to cooperate with us to introduce reforms in the province,” Khattak explained.

On the occasion, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Asad Qureshi and Imtiaz Qureshi were unanimously approved for the slot of speaker and deputy speaker of the provincial assembly, respectively.

The joint meeting was attended by PTI’s coalition partners – Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sirajul Haq, Qaumi Watan Party’s Sikandar Sherpao, Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan’s Shehram Tarakai along with other MPAs from these parties.

Following the meeting, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) dissident Babar Saleem Khan along with a 40-member delegation called on Khattak at the Officers Mess and announced he would be joining PTI along with his supporters.

On the occasion, Babar said he was greatly impressed with the vision of PTI chief Imran Khan and after joining the party he would conform to PTI’s manifesto and work for the welfare of the people.

Expressing his gratitude to Babar and his supporters, Khattak said PTI has turned into a national movement and its primary goal is to establish a corruption-free society.

Babar Saleem Khan left PML-N in 1997 and joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid during former president Pervez Musharraf’s era. He then rejoined PML-N recently, but developed differences with the party on the issue of ticket allocation for the elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2013.