ABBOTTABAD/PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said that negotiations between the government and PTI are in the final stage as both sides have agreed on all points except the two, which are also likely to be settled soon.

The chief minister was talking to mediapersons at the residence of provincial information minister Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani in Abbottabad during the marriage ceremony of the latter’s daughter on Friday.

Mr Khattak, who is also member of the PTI negotiating committee, denied that any new formula had been presented by the jirga members of the opposition parties to end the deadlock, adding that PTI’s demands were clear from the day one.

About the possible tabling of no-trust motion against his government in KP by the opposition, Mr Khattak said that the opposition’s move was just a ‘drama’. He said that the opposition parties had no strength in the KP assembly nor had they submitted any requisition for convening of the provincial assembly session.

The chief minister refuted the allegations that due to sit-ins the day-to-day affairs of the KP government had been badly affected. “All the government departments are functioning with full capacity and he himself is much aware of the affairs of these departments,” he added.

Mr Khattak said that all the ministers had been regularly attending to their offices and that budget allocations for developmental schemes and projects were being utilised properly.

About PTI dissident lawmakers, Mr Khattak said that individuals had no role in the party decisions and those who were not ready to follow the party line had no place in the party.

To a query about the rightsising of the education boards, he said that all the education boards would be brought under one umbrella with uniform policy as currently lot of complaints were being reported against the working of these. He said elimination of corruption from the education boards was his top priority.

Regarding registration of FIR against seven killings in riots during the separate Hazara province movement, the chief minister said that nobody had approached the government for registration of case into the incident and that whenever an application was moved in that regard it would be dealt with on legal grounds.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said that the Provincial Act of Agriculture & Livestock Produce Market, 2007 would be amended in light of the 18th constitutional amendment while the relevant functions of the federal ministry of food & agriculture market development would also be incorporated in it accordingly to boost agriculture production in the province.

The chief minister stated this while speaking at a meeting of the agriculture department in the provincial capital on Friday, according to a handout.

Mr Khattak said that the PTI-led coalition government was eager to streamline agriculture department and ensure increase in quality and quantity of agricultural produce. He said his government would not allow exploitation of poor farmers.

The CM said that the market committee had been dissolved some months ago and administrators appointed, who had been successful in bringing down rates of essential commodities.The meeting reviewed demand and supply position of the food items to bazaars and took several decisions in that regard.

Provincial minister for public health engineering Shah Farman Khan, agriculture minister Ikramullah Gandapur, mineral development minister Ziaullah Afridi, revenue minister Ali Amin Gandapur, minister for jails Malik Qasim Khattak, MPA Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, secretaries of agriculture, law, advocate general and other concerned officials were in attendance.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2014