PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi said here on Sunday that military operations in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caused migration and a large number of people shifted to Peshawar, creating civic problems in the city.

He said that people from tribal districts and Malakand division migrated to Peshawar and overcrowded the provincial capital.

He said that development of Peshawar was must. He added that the provincial capital was being focused upon.

The chief minister, during his address after launching Peshawar’s beautification project, said that the main objective of launching the scheme was to restore the past glory of the provincial capital, according to an official statement.

Afridi inaugurates beautification project

He said that most of the visitors to provincial capital were outsiders and it was their collective responsibility to improve the city.

He added that all laws and policies introduced in the province would focus solely on public welfare and greater public interest instead of giving immunity to someone. “Anyone, who does anything wrong, will be held accountable,” he added.

The statement read that under the initiative, rehabilitation of roads, installation of street lights, measures for smooth flow of traffic, installation of sculptures, development of green areas and other beautification measures would be carried out in the provincial capital.

The chief minister said that some ill-informed people questioned the one per cent share received by KP under NFC Award for war against terrorism, but they ignored the fact that the province made the greatest sacrifices in that war. He added that other provinces received more funds under various heads but KP continued to face financial discrimination.

He said that payment of Rs2,200 billion under the head of net hydel profit was pending with federal government. He said that federal government had pledged Rs100 billion annually for merged districts, but the amount was not released and Rs550 billion, owed to merged districts remain unpaid.

“The administrative merger of former Federally Administered Tribal Areas has taken place, but its financial merger has not yet,” said Mr Afridi, adding that an overall, Rs3,000 billion was outstanding against federal government.

He said that KP’s rightful share in NFC Award stood at 19.4 per cent after merger of tribal districts, but the province was given only 14.6 per cent. “We demand our full rights. The federal government is treating KP like a stepchild,” he remarked.

Referring to the newly-launched project, the chief minister said that Peshawar, as a provincial capital, was a collective responsibility. “We will continue to bring forward more projects to improve its development and aesthetics, this city is our face,” he added.

He said that a comprehensive master plan for Peshawar would soon be prepared in consultation with public representatives.

Earlier, officials briefed the chief minister that the beautification project included rehabilitation of Peshawar Ring Road, Jamrud Road, and GT Road.

The provincial minister for local government and rural development, Meena Khan Afridi, said that local government department and Peshawar’s Development Authority (PDA) had done a detailed work and hoped that a presentation on the plan would be shared next week.

“Peshawar is much better as compared to the Peshawar before 2013,” he said.

He said that the missing link of Peshawar Ring Road would be inaugurated in January, 2026. He said that the provincial capital would be transformed through joint efforts and hoped that there would be visible changes in the provincial capital by June 2026.

The event was also attended by elected representatives from Peshawar, former MPAs and senior officials of local government department.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2025