CM says govt striving to create jobs

NOWSHERA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has said that despite challenges, the government is executing uplift projects in the province.

Talking to reporters here, he said the government was focusing on the provision of clean drinking water and other amenities of life to the people.The chief minister said the government was strengthening the infrastructure to improve the living standards of the people in the province.

Criticising the opposition political parties, he said its leaders had no agenda for the prosperity of the people and they were least concerned about themselves. He maintained the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates polled the highest number of votes in the first phase of the recently held local government elections.

Mahmood Khan said the opposition parties, including Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Awami National Party, suffered setback in the polls.Ridiculing the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, he said, its candidates did not know as to how they managed to receive the votes.

Mahmood Khan hoped the PTI would emerge victorious in the second phase of the local government ‘ elections.He said the opposition had created an impression that the days of the PTI government were numbered.”But our government will complete its five-year constitutional term,” he declared.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement, the chief minister, said had lost its appeal and was about to vanish. “The opposition stands divided. There is no threat to the government,” he remarked.

However, he added the opposition had the right to run its campaign, but nobody would be allowed to take the law into their hands. Conceding that inflation had risen and the public sector could not provide enough jobs, Mahmood Khan said the government was working to set up industrial zones in the province to create employment opportunities for the skilled youth.

The chief minister said the Rashakai Special Economic Zone was being established near the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project, which would help provide jobs to 250,000 skilled youth.

He admitted that there were problems but efforts were being made to overcome the challenges facing the country. Mahmood Khan said the government was also taking steps for the development of the newly merged districts. He said the PTI government believed in serving the people. “We will make every effort to come up to the expectations of the people,” he added.