PESHAWAR: Caretaker Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa retired Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah on Thursday said his government took every possible step to address the financial issues facing the province.

Chairing his cabinet’s farewell meeting here, the CM said his government raised voice to claim dues from the federal government “When we took charge, there were no funds to pay salaries to our employees. We raised our voice to claim KP’s arrears from the centre and succeeded in getting an additional amount of Rs64 billion in a short span of time. Our treasury has Rs100 billion right now,” he said, according to an official statement issued by the CM’s Secretariat.

Mr Shah congratulated all cabinet members over peace elections and praised civil administration, Pakistan Army and other stakeholders for providing a peaceful environment for the Feb 8 electoral exercise.

He said the moment his government took the charge, the province was confronted with two crucial challenges, including the delicate law and order situation and an economic crisis, but despite the difficult situation, financial requirements of the police department were fulfilled on a priority basis for maintaining law and order.

CM insists his govt strove to address financial issues

The CM added that special attention was given to the resolution of public issues in the newly-merged tribal districts.

He said the Khushhal Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Programme was meant for people’s welfare and sustainable development of the province and it would prove to be a road map for the upcoming elected government in the province.

Mr Shah said his government signed a number of development agreements with local and foreign institutions, while around 0.5 million youth would be sent abroad for employment in the next one year under the government’s Human Resource Export Strategy.

He said multiple initiatives were taken under the KKPP for ensuring good governance in the province.

The CM said the austerity campaign, crackdown on narcotics and encroachments, and zero tolerance against corruption yielded substantial results.

He said the launch of Quantum Computing in the province was another major achievement of the caretaker government.

Mr Shah said result-oriented steps were also taken to enhance skilled manpower of the province.

He said the government had decided in principle to add 3,000 seats to medical colleges, while the number of seats in the province’s nursing colleges would also be increased.

The CM thanked Jamil Swati, Dr Akhtar Hussain and retired Brigadier Mujtaba Tirmizi for providing voluntary services to the government to materialise the Khushhal Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Programme.

He expressed best wishes for the upcoming elected government in the province.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2024