Corrupt will be taken to task, pledges CM

Says steps being taken to strengthen institutions

NOWSHERA: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Saturday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan had launched movement against corruption according to the wishes of the people.

Speaking at a meeting arranged for the September 30 protest rally in Raiwind, he said that the rally would prove a stimulus for the movement of taking corrupt elements to task.

“Ehtesab rally would be harbinger of doom for the corrupt rulers in Pakistan,” he said, adding that it would give courage to the masses to make their rulers accountable for their loot and plunder.

He said that he would lead the protesters who would gather at the Rashakai Interchange. Commenting on the remarks of the Awami National Party leader, he said that the previous government broke all the records of corruption.

He said that Haider Hoti should not talk about eliminating corruption from Khyber Pakthunkhwa when he had patronised the corrupt elements in the province.

He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had focused on developing Punjab and had ignored the smaller federating units of Pakistan. “Nawaz Sharif politics would not prove helpful in addressing the problems in the country as the sense of deprivation was increasing in the smaller provinces,” he claimed.

While talking in Peshawar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Saturday said that peace and development were interrelated as they complemented each other for the establishment of a successful society.

He was speaking at the closing session of a seminar titled “Peace and Development in KP and Fata’ at a hotel here.

“Peace can be secured through dispensation of justice, respecting other view points, following the true spirit of law and establishing a system under which institutions deliver up to the mark,” he added.

He said that a peaceful society was the one, which was based on justice and equality and where the rights of all the people were protected.

Pervez Khattak said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, being the frontline province in the war against terror, had faced immense economic and social setbacks.

He added the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was striving to implement its agenda for change. “Our government has a citizen-centric model for socioeconomic development focused on reducing poverty and achievement of peace and tranquility through an integrated and holistic approach,” he maintained.

“Our approach spells out the policy guidelines and strategic direction for growth led development. In order to have a more focused roadmap, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has developed an economic growth strategy, which is based on viable economic models,” the chief minister said.

He went on to add that the provincial government had taken up several mega projects that would contribute immensely to the socio-economic development of the province.

Pervez Khattak said the provincial government believed in citizen engagement and empowerment.

“The government introduced reforms in the health sector that included the reconstitution and revamping of KP Health Foundation, KP Health Regulatory Authority, Medical Health Institutions Law, Social Health Protection Initiative, establishment of Drug and Food Regulation Authority and Health Sector Strategy,” he added.