MANSEHRA: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will unveil a social welfare-oriented budget for the next financial year, benefiting the widows, orphans and people with disabilities.

Addressing a public meeting at Boi area here on Tuesday, he said that the PTI-led provincial government would do away with the class-based education system, which was a big obstacle to the development of poor segments of society. “It is unfortunate that only 800,000 children are getting education in English medium schools, while a huge 12 million were enrolled in public sector Urdu medium schools and around three million studied in seminaries,” he informed.

“We are here to bring real change in the education system and that time is not far when the students of seminaries would also get the opportunity to achieve higher positions as the seminaries would also be brought under the formal education system,” Mr Khan said. “We would establish a uniformed education system if people voted us into power at the national level.”

Vows to end class-based education system

The public rally was part of the canvassing for by-elections in PK-45 constituency being held on Thursday.

The PTI chief said that successive governments promoted elitist culture and an education system that discriminated against the ordinary citizens. We will crush such a system through the power of people, he vowed.

Imran Khan claimed that his party was not a family limited company like the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, adding that PTI would seek all stakeholders’ input for good governance and smoothly running the affairs of the government.

The PTI chief said that ruling elites didn’t have any feeling for the poor as they went abroad for treatment of even minor illnesses.

Mr Khan alleged that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan was influencing the by-election in PK-45 constituency, and insisted that the PTI would win the election with a thumbing majority. “People are with us and the PML-N is going to lose this seat on June 5 as people are fed up with the policies of the federal government,” he added.

He said that the PTI candidate, Ali Asghar had worked for the uplift of the oppressed segments of society in the area and would win the by-poll on the basis of his past performance.

Mr Khan asked party workers to be vigilant to curb rigging in the by-election.

He said if anyone was found to be casting fake ballots they would be put behind bars.

Imran Khan said that three girls’ degree colleges would be established in PK-45 as his party wanted to promote female education to bring them in the mainstream.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2014