PESHAWAR: Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has hinted at an investment of about $2 billion in the energy sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Addressing a meeting of elected members of his party on Saturday, he said that foreign investors were willing to invest in various sectors.

Flanked by PTI’s senior vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he said his party planned to launch an austerity drive to reduce the government expenditure in KP and said all efforts should be made to implement the party manifesto and make the province a role model for other federating units.

He said the provincial government would pursue a policy based on merit and no individual would be allowed to influence the system. He urged the party MNAs and MPAs to keep an eye on their constituencies and solve the problems being faced by the people. “We want all the departments, including police, to serve the people,” he added.

It was impossible to adopt a merit-based policy without doing away with political influence, he said. The elected people should work hard to resolve the issues affecting the people.

Mr Khan said elections were rigged in many Karachi and Punjab constituencies but finally change emerged in KP, adding that the party was determined to rise to the expectation of the people of the province.

He was happy over the big turnout in May 11 election and said it was a positive sign.

The PTI chief said that intra-party election had set a good precedent in the country and the other parties were under pressure of their workers to follow the suit.

About allotment of tickets in by-election and the concern of party workers, he said that party’s decision was final and asked the workers to abide by the decision. No worker is allowed to go against party’s policy, he said.

On the occasion, KP chief minister Pervez Khattak informed the meeting that working groups had been formed in all departments to bring about change. The government, he said, would implement PTI’s agenda upon the recommendations of respective working groups in different departments.

A local government programme prepared by the working group would soon be sent to the KP Assembly before implementation. He said that the MPAs would not get direct funding for projects.