KOHAT: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has insisted the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement lacks the required numbers to table a no-confidence motion against the prime minister in the parliament.

He said the opposition parties were also undecided on the long march on Islamabad.

Talking to mediapersons after attending the parents’ day function at the Garrison Cadet College, Kohat, on Saturday, he said the opposition had no agenda to run the government in case the no-trust move was successful.

Mahmood said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government was not afraid of the opposition. He said the past governments gave billions of rupees subsidies on sugar, electricity and other edibles to keep the prices under control. He said launch of Kafalat and Ehsaas programmes and housing loans were clear proofs about the government’s concerns about the poor.

The chief minister brushed aside the ‘negative’ propaganda of the opposition about the PM’s visits to China and Russia. He said the world had praised Pakistan for reviving the economy despite Covid-19 pandemic.

Mahmood said opposition parties’ proposed march on Islamabad on March 23 did not seem possible because they were not on the same page.

Regarding the complaints of people of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about ignoring the region in development projects, he said the Peshawar-DI Khan Expressway project would cost Rs370 billion, whereas the whole provincial annual development programme was Rs120 billion. Similarly, he said the left bank irrigation canal project’s cost was Rs260 billion.

The chief minister said the government had constituted Area Development Project to spend oil and gas royalty funds in a transparent way.

He said work on Liquat Memorial Hospital, Kohat, would resume soon after revision of the tender cost. He said Kohat would also have an MRI facility by March.

Earlier, he inspected the parade at the cadet college, and gave away the best house trophy to the Rustam House.

Speaking on the occasion, Mahmood Khan said cadet colleges were nurseries of armed forces, doctors, scientists, engineers, and the graduates played vital role in the country’s development.

He asked the students to pay full attention to their studies to materialise the dreams of their parents.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2022