Steps on for strengthening health sector, says CM

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Sunday said strengthening of health infrastructure in the province to effectively deal with Covid-19 was a priority of the provincial government.

“Result-oriented steps are being taken under a strategy to augment the overall capacities of the public sector hospitals,” an official communique quoted him as saying. He added that the provincial government was working to turn the challenges posed by Covid-19 into an opportunity to strengthen and improve the health service delivery system. Mahmood Khan said in order to enable the existing health infrastructure to cope with the challenges of coronavirus pandemic, Rs.124 billion had been proposed for health sector in the annual budget of the upcoming financial year in addition to the Rs24 billion allocated to fund the emergency nature of expenditures.

“During the upcoming financial year steps will be taken to enhance the capacities of all the public sector hospitals, including district headquarters and tehsil headquarters hospitals in both the settled as well as newly-merged districts,” the chief minister said. He added that in this regard need assessment of all these health service delivery outlets was being carried out. Mahmood Khan added that funds for purchase of essential medicines for public sector hospitals had been increased to Rs4.00 billion in the upcoming budget as compared to that of Rs2.5 billion in the budget of 2019-20.

Growers thank govt for withdrawing advance tax on tobacco crop

Representatives of tobacco growers and farmers’ associations from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for their efforts to abolish advance tax of Rs500 on per kilogram of tobacco crop.

A ceremony was held on Sunday, attended by members of Kissan Board Pakistan, Sarhad Agricultural and Rural Development Organization, Pakistan Tobacco Growers Association, Anjuman Tahaffuz Huqooq Kashtkaraan, Kashtkaar Coordination Council, Mehnat Kash Labour Federation and Dealers Association.

The meeting participants said that tobacco is grown in Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda, Malakand, Buner and Mansehra districts of KP. Hundreds of thousands of farmers and labourers are dependent on tobacco, which is sole cash crop of this region.

The representatives of tobacco growers and industry labour unions of Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda, Mallakand, Buner and Mansehra also lauded efforts on part of MNA Shandana Gulzar, MNA Sher Akbar Khan, MNA Nafeesa Khattak, Abdul Kareem Khan, KP Minister of Industries, MPA Aqibullah Khan, MNA Ehsan Tiwana, and Federal Minister for Food Security Fakhar Imam for raising voice for tobacco growers and farmers of KP to withdraw advanced tax on tobacco crop.