PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has said the provincial government has taken pragmatic steps to provide the people with easy access to basic services.

He insisted Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had emerged as the only political party representing Pakistanis and stood for their rights, according to a statement issued from the chief minister’s secretariat on Saturday.

“The provincial government has taken practical steps to improve the overall service delivery in KP,” the statement quoted him as saying.

Mahmood Khan said some of the welfare initiatives of his government included Sehat Card Plus, uniform education curriculum, revamping and rehabilitating healthcare centres, outsourcing healthcare facilities in far-flung areas and establishing service delivery centres.

“Provision of honorarium to prayers leaders of mosques and religious leaders of minorities, Kisan Card, reforms introduced in revenue department, solarisation of mosques and improving communication network are some of the notable steps taken by his government,” he said.

The chief minister said during the last four years, the KP government worked beyond its capacity for ensuring welfare of people and investing in human development despite multiple challenges.

“Public confidence in strategy of the KP government has increased significantly,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

He said free treatment facilities for various diseases had been made available to 9.6 million families under the Sehat Card Plus scheme. “Since the rollout of Sehat Card initiative, hundreds of thousands of families have availed free treatment facilities, including expensive liver and kidney transplants.”

The statement said the government had also ensured online provision of multiple services, including issuance of Fard and domicile certificates.

The government is also working on rehabilitation and upgradation of existing schools, besides establishing new schools to provide uniform educational opportunities to people, he added.

He said the government was also establishing model schools to impart students with both traditional and religious education. He said around 8,000 mosques had been solarised, and another 9,000 would be solarised in future.

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023