Staff Reporter Peshawar
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet met with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair on Tuesday constituted a committee to prepare recommendations for cabinet on retirement age of government employees after Supreme Court decision. The committee led by Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra would formulate final recommendations on the retirement age of government employees and present the same to the cabinet.
Briefing media persons about the cabinet meeting by Kamran Bangash, Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information and Higher Education along with Provincial Minister for Local Government Akbar Ayub Khan and Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Industries Abdul Karim said the cabinet also endorsed decision of its last meeting to hold local body elections in September 2021 and as a result a responsible local government would be formed.
He said that the chief minister congratulated his cabinet and the people of the province on the completion of the process of extending Health Card Plus to 100 percent of the population of the province. Chairing a meeting of the provincial cabinet, the chief minister described the Health Card Plus Scheme as an important step towards the establishment of a welfare state and a historic project of the province.
Kamran Bangash said it was top priority of the present government to establish an empowered local government system in the province and it was set to hold local body elections in 2020 but it got delayed due to corona pandemic. He said the government was committed to holding local body elections in the province in accordance with its party manifesto and constitutional obligation.
He added that the cabinet tasked Local Government Minister Akbar Ayub to sort out all relevant issues with the Election Commission regarding holding of local body elections in the province. Kamran Bangash maintained in the 2015 local body elections, the local government system was empowered at the grass root level, which yielded far-reaching results.
He said that record development work in last local body elections had given a two-thirds majority in the province. The Cabinet was also apprised of the situation regarding sugar and flour and there was an adequate stock of these commodities was available in the province.