PESHAWAR, July 29: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said that efforts will continue for establishing a welfare Islamic society, restoration of provincial rights and marked improvement in health and education sectors.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Girls Campus of the Khyber Medical College (KMC) in Hayatabad on Thursday, he said the MMA government would try its best to fulfil promises made with the people.

The chief minister said the establishment of the Girls Campus of the KMC would provide opportunities for those talented female students who were reluctant to pursue higher education in the medical field simply because of the co-education.

He said education and health facilities were must for a developed society and the government had initiated construction work for top grade hospitals in 19 districts and their completion would improve health facilities in all major hospitals and they would no more be overcrowded.

Mr Durrani said the Frontier province was poor and lacked resources. He alleged that successive governments in the past had intentionally ignored the development of the province.

He said the MMA government considered the power a sacred trust and all promises made to the people would be fulfilled. He said the development projects initiated by the present government would change the fate of the people.

He said provision of free books up to primary level, exemption of five marla houses from property tax and better health facilities were some of the revolutionary steps of the NWFP government which were being imitated by the Punjab government.

He said postgraduate classes in all government degree colleges for girls had been started to help female students get higher education in their areas. He said the MMA government had controlled non-developmental expenditures which had increased government's resources.

Mr Durrani said that for eliminating poverty and joblessness, development of the agriculture sector was inevitable. The MMA government has worked out a comprehensive policy to control wastage of water and for this purpose 20 small dams would be built, he added. He said the federal government had approved construction of 10 small dams, which would irrigate thousands of acres of barren lands in southern districts.

Opinion

Editorial

Reserved seats
Updated 15 May, 2024

Reserved seats

The ECP's decisions and actions clearly need to be reviewed in light of the country’s laws.
Secretive state
15 May, 2024

Secretive state

THERE is a fresh push by the state to stamp out all criticism by using the alibi of protecting national interests....
Plague of rape
15 May, 2024

Plague of rape

FLAWED narratives about women — from being weak and vulnerable to provocative and culpable — have led to...
Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...