KP govt plans to launch insurance company to reduce investment risk

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said on Wednesday the government was taking steps to restore the confidence of the investors.

He said the government wanted to give an ideal environment to the investors and facilities would be made available to them to win back their confidence. According to an official handout, he was talking to a seven-member delegation of the Pakistani community in the United States.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Senior Minister for Health Shahram Tarakai, Advisor to Chief Minister Abdul Munim, Parliamentary Secretary Dr Haider Ali and others were present.

The chief minister said the government would launch own insurance company to reduce investment risk and work out a strategy to safeguard foreign investment in the potentially rich sectors of the province.

He said the past governments didn’t bother to restore the confidence of the investors. “Our government is working to stamp out corruption and irregularities. Now the investors are planning to invest in different sectors in the province,” he added.

Pervez Khattak said the government had planned health insurance for poor and a health card for the official employees was on the cards.

He went on to say that his government was planning to outsource diagnosis process. The chief minister said that the tertiary hospitals were now autonomous. He said though there were shortcomings in the health sector, and efforts were underway to address them.

Pervez Khattak said this approach would be expended to tehsil level and his government would encourage private sector for diagnostic facilities, adding, his government was recruiting 1100 doctors to ensure the availability of doctors in hospitals of the province.

He spoke about the background behind the sick industrial units in the province, saying that industrial units used to make items used in Afghanistan, but the fragile security situation in Afghanistan affected the businesses.

Pervez Khattak said the provincial government had planned three townships in the province and would offer some of the land within these townships to potential investors for healthcare related activities.

The chief minister said the government was mindful of the trust deficit that existed in the past among the potential investors. “Our model for industrialisation being an ideal one would lead to confidence-building of the investors,” he hoped.