Tag: Khyber Pakhtun­khwa

  • Construction work for Swat Motorway Phase-II to begin next week

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan will lay the foundation stone for Swat Motorway Phase-II in the next week.

    The CM instructed that development on the Dir Motorway project’s PC 1 for land acquisition be quickened so that practical work on the project can proceed.

    He was presiding over a meeting of the Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority to discuss the status of various road projects, including the Swat Motorway Phase II and the Dir Motorway.

    The meeting was informed on the status of Swat Motorway Phase II, which will be 88 km long and will be built at a cost of Rs58 billion and will run from Chakdara to Fatehpur. It was also revealed that a contractor deal for the project’s construction had been inked.

    It was revealed that Rs6.7 billion had been allocated for the project’s land acquisition. In addition, section four was implemented for the purchase of land.

    Project Plan

    Swat motorway will have four lanes at first and will be expanded to six lanes later. Chakdara Interchange, Shamozai Interchange, Barikot Interchange, Mingora Interchange, Kanju Interchange, Malam Jabba-University of Swat Interchange, Sher Palam Interchange, Matta Khawazakhela Interchange, and Madin-Fatehpur Interchange would be among the nine interchanges.

    On the Swat River, a total of eight bridges will be built. The project also includes the construction of four rest spots in various places, as well as the construction of connection highways if required.

    PHA officials briefed the meeting on Dir Motorway that an Expression of Interest for a 30 km long Dir Motorway from Chakdara to Rabat had been floated. Three interchanges, four flyovers, 24 bridges, two underpasses, and two tunnels will be part of this road project.

    These developments, according to the Chief Minister, would help boost tourism, trade, and economic operations, making them a “milestone” for the long-term growth of the Malakand division. These initiatives will also provide employment chances for locals in addition to improving transportation facilities.

  • More than 63 million children to be vaccinated in massive five day polio drive

    More than 63 million children to be vaccinated in massive five day polio drive

    A five-day anti-polio drive began in different parts of the country on Monday. More than, 63 million children will be will be vaccinated during the polio drive. The government has set a target of twenty-two million children in Punjab and more than one hundred and fifty thousand polio workers have been deployed for the purpose.

    In Sindh, anti-polio drops will be given to approximately ten million children under the age of five in thirty districts. The initiative will involve seventy thousand health professionals and ten thousand supervisors.

    During the drive, anti-polio drops would be given to nearly 2.5 million children under the age of five in Balochistan. Approximately 10,000 teams have been formed for this purpose.

    In the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, anti-polio vaccination will be provided to around 6.2 million children under the age of five in twenty-nine districts.

    During the door-to-door campaign, over 30,000 teams will administer anti-polio drops to children. To esnure the administering anti-polio drops to maximum children polio teams will also be available at railway stations.

  • ‘Overseas Pakistanis ki maujain’: Cabinet approves separate judicial system for expats

    ‘Overseas Pakistanis ki maujain’: Cabinet approves separate judicial system for expats

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting, said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has approved a separate judicial system for Overseas Pakistanis.

    Fawad shared that the cabinet has approved the formulation of a separate judicial system for the expats for summary trial.

    The minister further said that the implementation of the laws will come in accordance with PM Khan’s vision to facilitate overseas Pakistanis, who are a precious asset of the country.

    The federal minister further revealed that a similar judicial system will also be established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, where PTI is in power.

    Fawad said that the administrative issues of courts should be dealt with in line with the view of the government.

    “Pakistan is facing an administrative crisis due to stay orders given by the courts,” said Fawad, adding that lawsuits are “cheaper in Pakistan than in the world”.

  • PM Khan says his five-year term will be successful if he ends poverty

    PM Khan says his five-year term will be successful if he ends poverty

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday launched Raast person-to-person payment system for instant digital transactions.

    PM Khan, while addressing the audience, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) got a second chance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) because the party ended poverty in the province.

    “After five years, we were given a chance again in a province which provides a second chance to no one. A report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) suggested that KP ended poverty the fastest,” said the premier, adding that we were given votes again because we ended poverty.

    “I will consider myself successful by the end of 2023 when my tenure is evaluated if I have ended poverty and lifted the poor,” said PM Khan.

    Sharing features of Raast, the premier said it would create ease for the common man, especially those who were afraid of going to banks because now they would be able to transfer money instantly through their mobile phones.

    In addition, the digital payment system would bring people into the formal economy, he said. “A country progresses when the saving rate increases, we have amongst the lowest,” he said, adding that people would have to become part of the formal economy if the country was to progress and the tax to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio would have to be increased.

    PM Imran said the government was reaching more people to bring them into the tax net, warning defaulters, “We are about to reach you because we are getting data very quickly.”

    Raast is part of Prime Minister Imran’s Digital Pakistan vision to include the poor segments of society in the formal economy. It has been developed by the SBP in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Karandaaz, Pakistan.

  • Supreme Court orders ECP to decide schedule for KP LG polls’ second phase today

    Supreme Court orders ECP to decide schedule for KP LG polls’ second phase today

    The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take a decision by Tuesday (today) on the second phase of local government (LG) elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Initially, the second phase of LG polls in 18 districts of KP was to be held in the last week of January, but it was rescheduled by the ECP through a Dec 30, 2021 order on applications filed by local MNAs and MPAs.

    On Jan 20 this year, the ECP issued a notification announcing the holding of the second phase of LG elections in KP on March 27.

    But on February 1, the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) Abbottabad bench had, in a verbal order, postponed the elections after accepting petitions of residents of five districts of KP on the grounds that these districts were expected to remain under snow in the last week of March due to heavy snow accumulation and, therefore, it would not be possible to set up polling stations.

    During Monday’s hearing, KP Advocate General Shumail Butt opposed the new election schedule, saying the ECP had not consulted the province before issuing the new election date. 

  • Girl shoots man for harassing her

    Girl shoots man for harassing her

    A 20-year-old man was injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Mardan district after a teenage girl opened fire at him for allegedly harassing her, ARY News reported.

    According to the police,  the incident occurred in Katlang tehsil of Mardan district wherein a teenage girl opened fire on a youth, Abbas, who was harassing her for several days.

    The police have registered a case on a complaint of the girl’s brother.

    According to the FIR, the 16-year-old girl, whose identity is unknown, shooting the harasser in the chest and injured him.

    Police shifted the accused to a nearby hospital while further investigation is underway.

  • 84 per cent Pakistanis consider inflation biggest problem: survey

    84 per cent Pakistanis consider inflation biggest problem: survey

    Quarterly Performance Evaluation Survey (QPES), a Pulse Consultant’s indigenous tracking tool of public perceptions and opinions about the government’s performance and current political situation, states that 84 per cent of Pakistanis consider inflation as the biggest problem of the country.

    Almost every Pakistani has been hit by inflation and 99 per cent are reporting that ‘Inflation increased in past three months’, reveals the survey.

    According to the survey, 65 per cent of Pakistanis blame the current sitting government for the country’s poor economic conditions, while 29 per cent blame previous governments.

    18 per cent of the country is satisfied by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s performance — 56 per cent believe PM Khan’s claim that Pakistan is out of the economic crisis. Just 15 per cent think that inflation will be reduced in the next three months.

    About the problems in the country, 80 per cent of the people think that unemployment is the biggest problem of the country while 37 per cent of the people have of opinion that corruption is the main problem of Pakistan.

    Similarly, 70 per cent Pakistanis believe that the economic situation of the country is going downhill as well.

    Read More- 59% traders consider Pakistan is not ‘moving in right direction’: Gallup Survey

    Furthermore, 69 per cent of Pakistanis believe that the country is going in the wrong direction.

    Respondents of the survey did not buy the government’s narrative where all blame was hurled at the previous regime that the current economic crises are due to previous governments’ loans. The majority of the respondents — 65 per cent — believe that it’s all due to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) wrong economic policies.

    When it comes to the provincial province’s performance, 55 per cent of Pakistanis in Punjab are dissatisfied and just 9 per cent are satisfied – 34 per cent are in between. Talking about Sindh, 42 per cent are dissatisfied and just 18 per cent are happy; the remaining 39 per cent are in-between.

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 55 per cent are dissatisfied and just 24 per cent are satisfied –20 per cent are in-between. Whereas in Balochistan, 55 per cent are dissatisfied and just 10 per cent are satisfied – 35 per cent are in-between.

  • ‘Khattak did good things’, PM Khan all praise for Khattak days after fight

    ‘Khattak did good things’, PM Khan all praise for Khattak days after fight

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan praised Defence Minister Pervez Khattak while addressing the inaugural ceremony of establishing a special technology zone in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Haripur on Monday.

    The premier’s remarks come days after a verbal squabble between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership, Khattak, and PM Khan himself.

    “When Pervez Khattak was chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa he did a lot of good things like [launching] health card scheme,” the premier remarked.

    PM Imran Khan lauded Khattak and said that his decisions resulted in the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which would have “long-lasting effects and time will prove it,”

    Talking about the initiative taken by the PTI-led government for the health sector, known as the “Naya Pakistan Sehat Card”, the premier said that Khattak was the one who had come up with the idea in 2013.

    Last week, PM Khan and Khattak had an exchange of bitter words during a parliamentary party meeting chaired by the premier himself.

    It was reported that Pervez Khattak said in the meeting that, “we have made you the prime minister.”

    “Gas is banned in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we generate gas and electricity and we are the ones who are suffering,” said Khattak, adding, “We will not be able to get votes if this is your attitude.”

    Khattak told media persons after the meeting that he neither talked harshly to the prime minister nor hurled any threat of not voting for PM Khan.

    “No one spoke harshly, I spoke for my right,” said Khattak.

  • PML-N is the most popular party in Punjab, reveals survey

    PML-N is the most popular party in Punjab, reveals survey

    Institute of Public Opinion Research (IPOR) did a survey in which it was revealed that Pakistan Muslim Leauge-N (PML-N) is still the most famous party in Punjab.

    Punjab:

    As per the survey with 46 per cent of people said they will vote for PML-N. PML-N is followed by PTI with 31 per cent voters. The survey further revealed that bout 5 per cent will vote for the PPP, 3 per cent for the TLP, while 2 per cent said that they will vote for the PMLQ.

    Sindh:

    Whereas in Sindh Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is leading with 44 per cent voters supporting it. Only 13 per cent people voted for PTI and over 7 per cent said they will vote for MQM. Three per cent people said they will vote for Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) and only one per cent people in Sindh will vote for the most popular party in Punjab, PML-N.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:

    In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ruling party is the most popular with 44 per cent votes followed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam with 17 per cent votes. 11 per cent people said they will vote for PML-N and 11 per cent said they will vote for ANP. Seven per cent for the PPP, 3 per cent for Jamaat-e-Islami, while one per cent of people will vote for the Qaumi Watan Party.

    Balochistan:

    In Balochistan, 20 per cent people said they will vote for Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). Over 18 per cent said that of people will vote for the PTI. While 15 per cent said that they will vote for PPP, 14 per cent for PML-N, 8 per cent JUIF, 5 per cent Balochistan National Party, 5 per cent said they will vote for PkMAP, while 2 per cent said they will vote for ANP.

  • ‘New Prime Minister?’: Who will replace Imran Khan if there is a coup in the party?

    ‘New Prime Minister?’: Who will replace Imran Khan if there is a coup in the party?

    Is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) pitted against itself? Are there signs of trouble ahead? Fingers are being pointed towards the leader from within the party. Blame and questions are being allegedly hurled at the premier. Something is up in the capital and people have started talking. They’re saying that it is possible that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan can be replaced as prime minister by someone else in the party itself.

    PM Khan and Defence Minister and former Chief Minister (CM) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pervez Khattak on Thursday allegedly exchanged bitter words during the parliamentary party meeting chaired by the premier himself.

    Reports of a clash between the premier and the PTI leader spread like wildfire within the media. It was reported that Pervez Khattak during the meeting said, “we have made you the prime minister.”

    “Gas is banned in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we generate gas and electricity and we are the ones who are suffering,” said Khattak, adding, “We will not be able to get votes if this is your attitude.”

    Khattak told media persons after the meeting that he neither talked harshly to the prime minister nor hurled any threat of not voting for PM Khan.

    “No one spoke harshly, I spoke for my right,” said Khattak.

    The damage had been done and to remove a prime minister, a no-confidence motion has to be brought in Parliament. Some analysts think that the wheels are already in motion.

    The Current reached out to political analysts and senior journalists to ask their opinion as to who could replace PM Khan if the rumours of a change in command were true.

    Senior journalist Hamid Mir shedding light on the recent squabble within the party leadership said, “Imran Khan will remain head of the PTI because the party is registered in his name but the revolt of Khattak may break the party. Khattak can muster support from the Opposition easily.”

    Resident Editor Dawn Fahd Husain terming a coup within PTI an ‘unlikely scenario’ said, “A coup in PTI is an unlikely scenario at this moment. It seems unlikely that the party can coalesce behind any one person except PM Imran Khan.”

    Journalist and Analyst Asma Shirazi talking about the dynamic political milieu in Pakistan said, “Will be too early to guess, things are changing every moment.”

    Analyst Mehmal Sarfraz commenting on the recent rift in the PTI said, “There may be many contenders for the PM slot — as there are in other political parties — but there is no PTI without Imran Khan. I don’t think PM Khan can be replaced. Whoever tries to ‘replace’ him will have to leave the party first.”

    Senior journalist and anchorperson Sabir Shakir responding with a Persian quote said, “ہنوذ دِلی دُور اَست [The heart is still far away].

    Columnist Hafeezullah Niazi while commenting on the verbal altercation between the PTI leaders said, “In case of change within PTI, Pervez Khattak will replace Imran Khan,” adding, “Establishment is already tipping Pervez Khattak to replace Imran Khan as prime minister.”