LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari says that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s performance is limited to just two jirgas and four Apex Committee meetings.

“There has been a sharp fare hike in Peshawar BRT from Rs110 to Rs510 while electric bus fares in Punjab remain at just Rs20,” she told a press conference here on Thursday.

She pointed out only 173 jobs were created in the technology sector in KP whereas over 100,000 people were employed under Suthra Punjab Programme. She claimed that KP’s ‘Ikhtiyar Awam Ka’ app was merely a copy of the ‘Maryam Ki Dastak’ app, with an extremely low registration rate of just 0.04pc.

Ms Bokhari also highlighted the lack of healthcare infrastructure in KP, stating that only 25 dialysis units were built in the past 12 years, most of which were now non-functional. She criticised the government’s failure to meet housing targets, stating that despite the promise of building 5m homes, only 200 had been completed so far.

She said Gandapur was attempting to take credit for old projects, pointing out that the CRBC (Chashma Right Bank Canal) project was initiated by Wapda in 1995 and was even listed on their website.

Azma Bokhari also criticised the KP government’s claim of launching a ‘Taleem Card,’ scheduled for 2027 but had been included in their current performance report.

Bokhari said the contractor of Peshawar BRT had filed a Rs57bn compensation claim against the KP government in an international court. She also stated that the Peshawar-DI Khan Motorway was a CPEC project but Gandapur’s government was trying to falsely take credit for it.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2025