PESHAWAR - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said that the protest rally of the PTI on August 14 at D-Chowk in Islamabad under the leadership of his party chairman Imran Khan is not for harming democracy or overthrowing federal government but for checking fraud in polls and bringing reforms in the Election Commission.
He said that we want transparent elections in the country to provide clean and honest leadership to the masses who could deliver. He further said that Accountability Commission (EC) has been okayed and process for the establishment of commission and appointment of officials was in progress. He said in next couple of weeks an independent and autonomous EC would formally start work.
He expressed these views during a meeting with a joint delegation of District Bar and Press Club of Nowshera. It was led by President District Bar Association Ejaz Mohammad Advocate, General Secretary Haji Mohammad Riaz advocate and President Press Club Nowshera Mushtaq Paracha while Minister for Excise and Taxation Mian Jamshiduddin and Parliamentary Leader P&D Mian Khaliqur Rehman were also present on this occasion. The delegation apprised the chief minister of certain local problems and demands, including lawyers and media colonies, construction of lawyers' chambers and transformer, lawyers endowment fund, training of lawyers in Judicial academy, induction of Nowshera lawyers as legal advisors and annexure of adjacent C&W park with Press Club Nowshera to which Pervez Khattak assured proper consideration and issued on spot instructions to the quarters concerned.
Pervez Khattak said the PTI-led coalition government besides quality primary and higher education would also promote technical education to make youth capable for finding employment of their choice. He said a unique technical university is being established at Azakhel, which will be first-ever international standard technical university of the country. He said due to its good standard it would be the employment giver to the outgoing students at doors of the university.
Similarly, he said, the establishment of 2nd state-of-the-art national level Air University will open the new doors of technical and higher education in the area. He said we are facing economic problems while the issues of price hike and unemployment are also soaring and perturbing our people.
However, he assured that we would come through all challenges with success. He said that corruption was our big issue that is addressed on priority basis so that to stop the wastage of precious public funds and spend it on welfare of the masses transparently. He said the Ehtesab Commission will conduct indiscriminate accountability of all and sundry even chief minister will be answerable to it.
He revealed that the provincial government has received several applications of corruption along with proofs but they were not handed over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), as how an Accountability Bureau, whose DG is posted in consultation between the Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition will conduct free accountability.
He said it was the reason that till today no clean and fair accountability was held and corruption increased with each passing day. He said the accountability commission is being established under a specified procedure and there is no interference of the chief minister or any bureaucrat in it. Therefore, it will conduct across the board accountability.
The chief minister said that largest change is the reformation of the system, saying situation in the province was deteriorated and corruption was at peak in past. Therefore, he said, the people in general and youth in particular gave a clear mandate to PTI to abolish the outdated system and stop the corruption, commission and injustices.
He said soon after assuming the reign of power, he introduced basic reforms and worked day and night for the restoration of institutions and elimination of corruption.
He said today a clear change is witnessed in this regard. He said the government has also given legal cover to its reforms and record legislation has been made in the province and further is in the offing.
Pervez Khattak said under the new Local Government system, his government has transferred all powers to gross root level and a provincial developmental budget of Rs30 billion will be spent through village councils and people will utilize funds on the basis of their sweet will.
He said that he considers himself as the servant of the people and never believed in any protocol and security and that is the reason that he considers himself as part of the people. He said the PTI-led coalition government is making all-out efforts for coming upto the expectations of the people, saying his utmost effort is for the restoration of institutions and confidence of people.
He said the standard of development projects would be maintained at every cost and now instead of two-room and two-teacher, the primary schools will have six rooms and six teachers.
He said his government under Tameer-e-School Programme is collecting donations for construction of 13,000 rooms, 9,000 boundary walls and 8,000 bathrooms in schools with missing facilities and in this connection his government has received a donation of Rs30 million in three hours of inauguration of this programme by PTI head Imran Khan.
He reiterated pledge of his government that our schools will soon be centres of knowledge in real sense due to high standard of learning there and even rich families will prefer to admit their kids there than private schools.