PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday said it would take up changes to electoral rolls in the province with the Election Commission of Pakistan and Supreme Court.

It also expressed concern over reduction in the number of National Assembly seats for tribal districts and said the region’s strength in the lower house of parliament should have been increased.

The two issues came up for discussion during a cabinet meeting, which was held here with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair and ministers and administrative secretaries in attendance.

Higher education minister Kamran Khan Bangash told reporters that the cabinet voiced deep concern over fewer National Assembly seats for the province and insisted that the province’s representation in the house should have been increased on the basis of population.

He said the cabinet members were annoyed over the people’s complaints about ‘changes’ to voter lists and insisted that the movemightpavethe way to rig election by the federal government.

Cabinet voices concern over reduction in NA seats for tribal districts

Mr Bangash said the cabinet decided that the matter would be taken up with the Election Commission of Pakistan and if the changes didn’t stop, the courts would be approached for relief.

He said the cabinet also observed that the legislation by the last PTI-led federal government promised free, fair and transparent elections in the country but that had been done away with.

The minister said the cabinet also approved the provision of subsidised wheat flour to the people for Rs980 per 20kg bag and Rs490 per 10kg bag during the current month due to around Rs30 billion subsidy by the government.

He said special sale points and shops would sell subsidised flour to the people, while wheat supply to flour mills would begin in the current month.

The cabinet also approved the KP Medical Officers of Health Department (Regularisation of Services) Bill, 2022, to regularise 675 contractual doctors who had been serving in various health facilities of the province during the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister said regularisation of the contractual medical officers would help improve health service delivery in the province to benefit common man.

The cabinet also approved the regularisation of the remaining 210 employees of the livestock department working in various projects in tribal areas as well as the creation of 34 IT-cadre posts in the excise department.

It approved regularisation/adjustment of 296 employees of the community-based CDLD project in Malakand against the vacant posts of local government department.

Mr Bangash said the cabinet also approved the absorption of 33 khasadar and 77 levies personnel in South Waziristan and Lakki Marwat districts into the provincial police, respectively.

It approved additional funds of Rs265 million for the ongoing Greater Mingora Water Supply scheme and for Kohat under the KP Cities Improvement Project, while Rs200 million was okayed as seed money to set up fund for the development of wildlife and national parks, public awareness and research in the wildlife sector during the financial year 2022-23.

In addition, the cabinet approved a grant-in-aid of Rs200 million for the University of Chitral to enable the university to meet operational expenses.

Mr Bangash said the cabinet also allowed the relevant departments to take up with the federal government the handover of the Pakistan Hunting and Sporting Development Company to the province and its merger with the Smeda.

The cabinet accorded approval to the establishment of the Community Game Reserve in the districts of Malakand, Hangu and Lakki Marwat. The areas declared as community managed game reserves include Degar Raj in Malakand, Chamba Gul in Hangu and Qimat Manji Wala in Lakki Marwat.

Approval was also accorded to the utilisation of forestland for the provision of clean drinking water to the people in Shakardara area of Kohat.

The cabinet, in order to address the growing pollution in Peshawar, approved the formation of an oversight and implementation committee comprising three ministers and MPAs from Peshawar as well as secretaries of relevant departments and Environmental Protection Authority.

Ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Kamran Khan Bangash and Ishtiaq Urmar will be the committee members. The cabinet also approved amendments to the Local Council (Conduct of Elections) Rules, 2021, to sort out disputes after the holding of local body elections as well as to streamline the functions and responsibilities of the ECP.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2022