The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa decided to challenge a proposed federal constitutional amendment in the Supreme Court. Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur chaired a meeting that resulted in several decisions, including establishing a ‘Debt Management Fund.’
The petition against the amendment argues that Parliament is incomplete as it has not allocated PTI’s reserved seats.
Amid speculation about an extension for Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, who is set to retire in October, the government promoted the constitutional package. Despite meetings orchestrated by PML-N and PPP to win over Maulana Fazlur Rehman of JUI-F, their attempts were unsuccessful.
Senior PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui confirmed that, despite claims of having enough support, the government has indefinitely postponed the amendment proposal in Parliament.
During the meeting, the Finance Department, under Section 36 (1) of the KP Public Financial Management Act, 2022, introduced the formation of the Debt Management Fund to promote long-term economic stability. This fund will invest idle government treasury balances into low-risk assets, with specific rules approved for its operations.
The cabinet also expressed its concerns about a $118.4 million loan offer from the Islamic Development Bank, facilitated by the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, for a poverty alleviation project in KP.
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Further approvals included an Rs1.5 billion recurring grant for KP’s public sector universities and the formation of an academic search committee led by Prof Dr Kausar A Malik to appoint vice-chancellors. Additionally, the cabinet established a performance evaluation committee for these vice-chancellors for two years.
Following a High Court judgment, the cabinet conditionally authorized Secretariat Performance Allowance for employees of the Solicitor’s Wing of the Law Department. It also sanctioned the transfer of 11 kanals of state land to the Health Department to upgrade the Rural Health Centre Nizampur to a category-D hospital in District Nowshera.
The cabinet endorsed the recommendations from the fifth meeting of the Cabinet Supervisory Committee concerning outsourced hospitals. It approved a non-ADP scheme worth Rs3.1475 billion for recovering maternal and child healthcare equipment in flood-affected areas of Hazara.
The cabinet extended the ‘Literacy for All’ program in the merged districts by a year to reduce illiteracy and enrol out-of-school children, with a new timeline from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
State land was allocated to the Local Government Department to construct the Tehsil Municipal Administration Lahore office in Swabi. Additionally, the cabinet approved a compensation package of Rs14.87 million for the fire victims at Nauthia Bazar, Peshawar.
Following a resignation, the cabinet appointed Malik Haroon Iqbal as the new chairperson of the Environmental Protection Tribunal in Peshawar for three years, effective August 31, 2023.
The cabinet approved agreements for a KFW-assisted digital governance project, including re-notifying land for the Gandhara Digital Complex in Peshawar to boost digital governance and innovation.
Nasir Khan received approval as the new CEO of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited for three years, alongside amendments to the district development advisory committee chair appointment procedures.
