ABBOTTABAD: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif considers only Punjab as Pakistan and his government has been ignoring the welfare of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“The prime minister considers only Punjab as Pakistan and during his foreign visits he always takes Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif with him and the foreign investors interested in investment in Pakistan are being limited to Punjab only,” Mr Khattak said while addressing a public rally at Jadoon House during his visit to Abbottabad on Saturday.

He said that the heads of all federal departments, including Wapda, were not ready to listen to the provincial authorities due which problems of the provinces had been increasing.

He criticised Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali, saying that the state minister was calling the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa thieves though he (Abid Sher) had appointed the chief executive of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), who himself was involved in power theft.

The chief minister said that the provincial government fully supported the Pesco in its campaign against power pilferage and on their request handed them three police stations in Bannu, but they failed as they themselves were not interested in ending power theft.

He said that the province was producing 3,500 megawatts of electricity against its own demand of 2,400 megawatts. Similarly, he said the province was also self-sufficient in natural gas and producing more gas than its demand.

He said that after getting right over these resources the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would no more need any assistance from the federal government or any kind of loans.

Mr Khattak said that the provincial government was committed to eliminating corruption from all government departments.

He claimed that during last six months the government had controlled corruption to a large extent in the province, passed the right to information law and constituted independent commission and also passed Right to Service Act to guarantee services to masses.

He said that the complaint cell of the CM Secretariat received 3,100 complaints of which 1,500 had been disposed of. He said that a unified education system was being enforced in the province.

The chief minister termed the federal government responsible for the price hike in the country and said that foreign debts,Khattak accuses centre of ignoring KP including loans from IMF and other financial institutions, resulted in increase in non-developmental expenditures of the government while the gas, electricity and petroleum prices unleashed a storm of price hike.

He said that provinces had no powers to control prices which were directly linked with the federal government’s policies.

He said that the federal government was ignoring the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and he in his capacity as KP chief minister had been seeking appointment with the prime minister for the last four months to discuss some important issues with him.

He said that like Peshawar, Rescue 1122 service would also be launched in Abbottabad, D.I. Khan and Swat. He said that cleanliness system in the whole province, including Peshawar, would be given on contract.

He announced that the provincial assembly would soon pass a resolution for the establishment of Hazara province, which would be sent to the federal government for further action. He said that the provincial government would introduce a local government system in which people at village level would be empowered and all departments would be brought under the district government.

The chief minister besides giving the status of university to the Havelian campus of Hazara University, announced one each girls and boys college in the five provincial assembly constituencies of Abbottabad, establishment of the college of home economics and one middle and high schools in each of the five constituencies of the district.

He also announced construction of bypass road from Muslimabad to Qalandarabad and Langra to Dhamthore and elevation of RHC Havelian to tehsil headquarters hospital.

The chief minister announced a grant of Rs2 million for Abbottabad Press Club and a fund of Rs20 million for media colony. He increased the development funds of MPAs to Rs150 million.

The chief minister was accompanied by information minister Shah Farman, MNA Azhar Jadoon and provincial PTI president Azam Swati.