PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Monday said the government and opposition were likely to complete consultation on the provincial interim setup next week.

“The Jamaat-i-Islami has given names of its candidates for the caretaker government, while the opposition will complete consultation in few days,” he told reporters at the Chief Minister’s House during a ceremony, where former Awami National Party MPA Aurangzeb Khan announced the joining of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

The event was attended by PTI lawmakers and Aurangzeb Khan’s supporters.

Aurangzeb’s elder brother, Alam Zeb, who elected MPA from Peshawar on the ANP ticket, was killed in a bomb blast in 2009. Aurangzeb, too, has survived a life attempt.

Khattak says JI has already proposed names for caretaker government

The CM said he had held meetings with opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman and discussed the caretaker setup in the province.

He said the opposition would complete consultation within days before Maulana Rehman proposed candidates for the slot.

Mr Khattak said the government had yet to decide about whether to announce the next budget and that discussion on it was under way.

He said he didn’t favour the announcement of the next budget by his government and strongly felt that the sitting government should present the budget for the current fiscal only.

The CM said the next government should present the budget, including the annual development programme.

He accused the government’s rivals of trying to make the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project controversial.

Mr Khattak said the bus project was likely to be completed in two months, while the fleet of buses would begin arriving in June.

He termed the Peshawar BRT the world’s fastest bus project to be completed in record time.

The CM blamed the expelled chief executive officer of the TransPeshawar Company for delay in the arrival of buses and said the government needed only 50 buses in the first phase to make the BRT functional.

He said the provincial government’s performance inspired Aurangzeb to join the PTI.

“The people have been joining the PTI unconditionally. The party will award election tickets on merit,” he said, adding that the ruling party would make the next government too due to good performance.

Mr Khattak said the PTI government had followed the party’s manifesto unlike the other parties, which ignored their respective manifestos after coming to power.

He said the country wouldn’t make progress until it had honest leadership.

“Pakistan needs Imran Khan to overcome crises, including economic problems and corruption. Imran Khan is a ray of hope for the nation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2018