PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and parliamentary leaders of the opposition parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly held discussion on the share of the opposition in the ‘umbrella development schemes’, chairmanships of the district development advisory committees, and posting and transfers in the constituencies of MPAs, said an official statement.

Opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani led the delegation, which called on Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

Speaker of the provincial assembly Mushtaq Ghani and cabinet members were also present in the meeting.

Mahmood says development of education, health govt’s priority

“The parliamentary leaders presented a set of proposals related to the DDAC chairmanships of different districts, the share of the opposition in the umbrella scheme, the Class-IV employees, and postings and transfers in the constituencies of MPAs, and other privileges,” said the statement.

The meeting discussed the overall developmental strategy of the province that included the ongoing development schemes in education, health and irrigation sectors, dualisation of the Indus Highway, motorway from Peshawar to Karachi, Swat Motorway, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor-related projects including Chashma lift irrigation scheme and extension of public sector entities in the newly-merged districts.

The chief minister promised the development of a clear and implementable strategy for the genuine proposals and suggestions of the parliamentary leaders.

He said education and health would continue to be the priority areas of his government but simultaneously, it would focus on the widening of the fiscal base of the province and strictly follow the austerity drive.

“There will be no whimsical decisions but the resources will be spent on the public welfare, prosperity and development of the province. Transparency and merit will be upheld,” he said.

The chief minister said he recently held a meeting with the Higher Education Commission’s chairman for the allocation of resources at the disposal of provincial government as the government could better understand the needs and requirements of different educational institutions and as such allocation to such institutions should be driven by demand and need.

He said he would look into the proposal of establishing the women’s campus of the Hazara University in the sprawling building with vast areas in Jabba area of Mansehra.

The chief minister said the government was committed to completing the near-to-completion schemes in the first go, while the rest would be taken in hand for completion after the transfer of resources of the share of the province under the NFC Award and net hydel royalty.

He said the merger of new districts in the province had brought along new challenges but the government had a matching preparedness.

“The provincial government has already extended the services of some public sector entities to the new districts and the rest will be taken care of gradually,” he said.

The chief minister promised the extension of BS classes throughout the province.

He said a high-level meeting would take place soon to properly assess the fiscal base of the province for use as the baseline for accommodating the suggestions of the opposition.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2018