PTI’s central leadership decides to retain Khattak as CM

PESHAWAR: After sweeping election in Khyber Pakhtun-khwa, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central leadership has decided to reappoint Pervez Khattak as chief minister of the province for the next five years.

He is being tasked to complete his unfinished projects on priority basis, it has reliably been learnt.

Sources close to the PTI chief and prime minister-in-waiting Imran Khan told The News that Pervez Khattak had officially been conveyed a message from the party leadership in this regard to remove mistrust among the party people.

PTI has won 67 provincial assembly seats in KP.

“The PTI Chairman and other leaders of the party are satisfied with Pervez Khattak’s performance and they want to utilise his long experience in governance in future as well. They want him to lead the PTI government for the next five years and complete the projects he had initiated and are nearing completion,” said a PTI source in Islamabad.

Pervez Khattak won one national and two provincial assembly seats. Another senior PTI leader, Asad Qaiser, who remained KP assembly speaker, won one national and one provincial assembly seat. They are likely to quit their National Assembly seats.

Assad Qaisar had earlier told his supporters in his native Swabi district that if he was elected in future he would not accept the speaker’s position. He had stated that he would prefer to become the chief minister to better serve his people.

However, PTI sources said that the party leadership is likely to offer Assad Qaisar the position of speaker provincial assembly again.

“We have been hearing that Assad Qaisar is canvasing for the chief minister slot. There is no better option than Pervez Khattak in the present lot for the chief minister’s job,” said a senior PTI leader in Islamabad.

He said the PTI leadership was aware of efforts started by a group of people within the party to challenge Pervez Khattak’s nomination, adding, they would have to accept the party chairman’s decision.

“Pervez Khattak is in good books of Imran Khan and I can guarantee you that he would be the chief minister,” said the PTI leader. When reached by phone, Pervez Khattak confirmed to The News that he would lead the PTI government in KP.

Some newly-elected legislators from KP after meeting Imran Khan at his Banigala residence on Thursday told The News that the issue of chief minister KP had not been decided yet.

“This is one of the most important positions for the party and therefore Khan Sahib (Imran Khan) has not yet decided it. He would take this decision with the consensus of the party leadership,” said a PTI MNA-elect.

However, Pervez Khattak told The News that he would quit his National Assembly seat and prefer to stay in the province.

He again confirmed to this correspondent that he would lead the PTI government in KP.

Pervez Khattak said they got two-third majority and would form their government without any other political party.

It is first time that a single political party has got two-third majority in the provincial assembly to form its government.

Also, it is first time in KP’s history that people voted to power the same political party that ruled the province and gave it a bigger mandate.

Pervez Khattak had predicted a day before the polling that they would win more than 50 percent seats in the provincial assembly.

“I told you before the election that we would win more than 50 percent seats. And by the grace of Allah and support of our people, we succeeded in our task,” remarked the senior politician.

He said he would never forget the love and support of the people of KP, saying now it was the PTI’s turn to deliver.

“We are very lucky. After a long time, the same political party would be in power in the centre as well as in the province. Most of our serious issues related to the federal government were not resolved as we didn’t have a government in the centre last time,” Pervez Khattak recalled.

He said that besides health and education, tourism and agriculture would be the top priorities of his government in KP.

“Compared to the past five years, I would need extra hard work as people had great expectations and I would like to bring visible changes in the province,” he pledged.

Pervez Khattak said that KP would become a hub of national and international tourism.

He said he would allocate funds for infrastructure development and beautification of tourist spots and take measures to facilitate tourists coming from in and outside the country.

Pervez Khattak said as he had already spent enough resources on health and education but would continue to give these sector extra funds.

He said his government had spent Rs40 billion on health and Rs70 billion on education in five years. He said it included Rs40 billion on higher and Rs30 billion on primary education.

Pervez Khattak said he would like to complete the long-delayed Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) and provide quality services to patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases. “I successfully pleaded for the share of the province from the federal government concerning the net hydel profit. As per AGN Qazi formula, the federal government used to pay Rs6 billion from 1990 to KP that was later raised to Rs21 billion. Now the federal government has agreed to raise the province’s share from next year to Rs100 billion,” he said.