Record legislation, reforms made in KP: CM

Claims his govt’s performance better than Punjab’s

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has accomplished record legislation and introduced fast track reforms for the benefit of the people and for ending political interference in public institutions.

Speaking at a dinner hosted by him for the delegates of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) at the Chief Minister’s House, he said the PTI had come into power after winning the 2013 general election on the slogan of ‘change’ and it was bringing far-reaching reforms in the system of governance and service delivery to the public. He claimed the previous governments did nothing for the people and instead indulged in corruption and misuse of power for personal interest.

The chief minister explained the reforms already introduced by the government and its plans for the future. He kept asking the guests if they were tired or hungry as his speech went on and on. Provincial minister for education Mohammad Atif Khan, minister for public health engineering Shah Farman, advisor to the chief minister on information Mushtaq Ghani and Shaukat Yousafzai, MPA, were also present on the occasion.

He mentioned the Right to Information, Act, the Right to Services Act and the Conflict of Interest Act that had already been passed and had become the law and said the Whistle Blower Bill would be tabled in the next session of the provincial assembly so that corruption could be effectively tackled. He said 30 percent of the money recovered from the corrupt would be given to the informers and their names would be kept secret.

Defending the amendments made in the Ehtesab Commission, he argued that its powers hadn’t been taken away and instead the commissioners and director general had been empowered.

Pervez Khattak claimed the devolution of powers in KP was unprecedented as 33 percent of development funds have been handed over to the local governments.

He said law and order situation has been improved significantly in the province and the police force has been depoliticized. “Through new Police Act, a system of check and balance has been activated in the police force,” he added. .

The chief minister said the provincial government had started recruitment under NTS System and established the Counter Terrorism Department to track down terrorists and their accomplices. .

According to the chief minister, 25,000 new teachers have been recruited and an independent monitoring unit established to evaluate their performance. He added that 13,000 schools out of total 27,000 schools have been revamped through provision of missing facilities. .

He said the “Sehat Ka Insaf Card” would help 1.8 million poor in getting medical care faculties.

Pervez Khattak said the condition of acquiring the non-objection certificate for the investors including concessions on machinery for the establishment of industrial units in KP had been abolished. He said the life saving services of Rescue 1122 were now available in 12 districts and would be extended to all 24 districts of the province.

He promised to solve all problems facing the journalists and recounted the steps taken by his government toward this end. He hoped the media would highlight the performance and reforms undertaken by the PTI government as these were far better than those made by the PML-N government in Punjab.