May 1, 2003	Thursday	Safar 28, 1424

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ABBOTTABAD, April 30: NWFP Chief Minister Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani has said the Frontier government is going to appoint provincial and district ombudsmen with powers to take prompt decisions on public complaints.

He was addressing a public meeting here on Wednesday at the Hockey Stadium.

The MMA government, he said, was committed to keeping its promises and was taking steps for the enforcement of Shariat in the NWFP, for which a final draft was ready to be tabled in the assembly for approval.

The chief minister clarified that they were not going to implement Shariat like Taliban.

All misconceptions, he said, about the MMA’s differences with the Centre and president had been removed during the recent visit of Mr Musharraf to the NWFP.

He said the government had an open policy towards the opposition in the NWFP Assembly. Nobody was interfering in the working of elected representatives and all were treated equally in the allocation of funds and other privileges, he claimed.

Mr Durrani said the provincial government would never compromise on the rights of the province and fight till last for them at every front.

About the local government system, Akram Khan Durrani was of the view that it had some flaws which would be removed soon to help run the system smoothly.

Speaking about achievements of the NWFP government in the education sector, he said it was also working for the set up of a women university and medical college.

The chief minister announced a package for Abbottabad district where Rs10 millions will be spent on a Gravity Flow Water Scheme for the city, Rs8 million for the water supply scheme at Lora and promised to fund construction of at least 30km roads in different parts of the district.

He also pledged to allocate funds in the forthcoming budget for the construction of small dams in the district and start of postgraduate classes in girls colleges after building additional blocks to be completed in the current fiscal year.

For the Abbottabad bypass road, he asked the local government to arrange land while the NWFP government would provide funds for the project.

Earlier, Provincial Minister for Local Bodies Sardar Muhammad Idrees, District Nazim Mustafa Jadoon, MNA Maulana Amanullah and Qari Mehboob-ur-Rehman Qureshi spoke at the occasion.

The chief minister also attended the reception at Havelian and Abbottabad and met delegates.

He also presided over a meeting of government officials at the Frontier House.