Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Thursday announced to establish a new administrative division in the name of “Abaseen” by splitting Hazara Division and create a new Zone-6 comprising few districts of Malakand and Hazara Divisions.
He made this announcement while addressing a public gathering at Battagram during his visit to the district. He said that the notification to give status of district to tehsil Allai would also be issued after local bodies elections. During his visit to District Battagram, the chief minister inaugurated various development projects worth Rs. 210 million cumulatively.
The inaugurated projects include Maidan-Karwar road, Battagram Paimal Road, Kakarshang RCC Bridge and two Mini Hydro Power Projects having a total capacity of 550 KV. These Hydro Power projects will provide locally generated electricity at cheap rates to 650 households, Masajids, healthcare units and shops. Highlighting the priorities of his government, the chief minister said that health and education have been the priority sectors of the provincial government and curative steps were being taken to boost these sectors.
He said that work was in progress on the up-gradation and revamping of 35 district headquarters hospitals of the province. Besides, he said that efforts were underway to overcome the shortage of doctors, paramedical staff and equipment in all district headquarters hospitals adding that new teacher staff was being recruited to fulfill the requirements of teaching staff in schools while Rs. 6 billion have been earmarked in the current budget for the provision of new furniture to schools.
He said that the government was also working to raise the standard of public sector schools to provide uniform learning facilities to all students. Mahmood Khan said that introducing a uniform curriculum in the country was an extraordinary achievement of Prime Minister Imran Khan which will be helpful to eliminate class difference among students in the country.
He said that another unique project “Education Card” would soon be launched to provide financial assistance to talented and deserving students of the province thus imparting free and quality higher education to the children of middle class households.
He further stated that the government was going all-out to overcome the recent wave of inflation and to give relief to the general public adding that “Ehsaas Food Card” would be launched shortly. He said that at present multiple development projects worth Rs. 7 billion were in progress in district Battagram, whereas more development schemes would be initiated in the district within the next two years.
Bashing the opposition, crying over inflation, the chief minister said that current inflation was the result of flawed economic policies of previous incompetent rulers adding that incumbent government paid $21 billion as interest on the loans borrowed by the previous rulers. He said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a public gathering at Peshawar the other day but he could not gather even 3000 people from all over Pakistan. He lamented that people of Sindh do not even have clean drinking water and Chief Minister Sindh was holding a public gathering in Peshawar. Mahmood Khan said that people of this province had expressed their full confidence in PTI during the general elections of 2013 and 2018 adding that these people would stand by PTI in the upcoming general elections. Provincial Cabinet Members Shaukat Yousafzai, Taj Muhammad Tarand, ex Provincial Minister Mohammad Yousaf Khan Tarand and others also addressed the public gathering.