Political interference damaged institutions: CM

Regrets being part of corrupt system in the past

NOWSHERA: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said on Saturday that political interference in government departments had damaged the institutions.

Speaking at a public meeting in Gandheri area in his hometown here, Pervez Khattak said that the corrupt politicians were hurdle to changing the decades-old faulty system.

He said that corruption and plunder of public resources were rampant in the province. Criticising the opposition parties for their criticism of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the chief minister said that the successive governments promoted corruption and took the menace to new height.

He added that the rulers in the past plundered public money and exploited the rights of the poor people.He said that the previous Awami National Party and Pakistan People’s Party coalition government in the province had broken all the previous records of corruption and politicised the state institutions. “Giving bribes for appointments and transfers was a common practice,” he added.

He said that the rulers violated merit and their politics revolved around patwari and thana culture. He said that deserving people were deprived of their rights and incompetent persons were accommodated in the government departments.

“I regret that I was also part of this system that was introduced by the vested interest politicians,” he added.He said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has become a ray of hope for the people and his government in the province upheld merit in appointments in the government departments, eliminated corruption and streamlined the faulty system in the past three years.

The chief minister added that the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government worked day and night and revamped state institutions, made an end to political interference in government departments and improved health and education system in the province.

He said that the government recruited 45,000 teachers, doctors, nurses, paramedics and other staff to overcome shortage of teachers and health staff in state-run schools and public sector hospitals. The government would recruit another 30, 000 teachers in the near future to fill the vacant posts in state-run schools, he said.

“There would be no vacant post of teachers at the end of 2017,” he added.Pervez Khattak said that though bureaucracy was creating hurdles in implementing the government agenda but vowed to implement the reforms agenda started by the PTI-led government.

The government of Punjab and other provinces were following in their footsteps, he said, adding, he was confident that PTI would form government in the Centre and four provinces after winning the 2018 general elections.He also announced various development projects for the area.