PESHAWAR, OCT 28 /DNA/ – Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has said that the incumbent provincial government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has taken pragmatic steps for public welfare as per Chairman Imran Khan’s vision for the establishment of a social welfare state, adding that the ultimate goal of the efforts and struggle over the years is to contribute to the national economy and provide people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with easy access to basic services.

In a statement issued here from Chief Minister’s Secretariat regarding the reforms and transformation strategy of his government, the chief minister said that PTI has emerged as the only political party that is representative of Pakistanis and stands for their rights. The provincial government has proved this by taking practical steps over the last four years which have resulted in significant improvement in the overall service delivery system in the province.

Mahmood Khan said that the major public welfare steps of the government include Sehat Card Plus, uniform academic curriculum, revamping and rehabilitation of healthcare centres, establishment of service delivery centres, provision of honorarium to Aaima Masajid and religious leaders of minorities, launching of Insaf Food Card, reforms introduced in Patwar system, solarization of Masajid, improvement in the communication network all over the province and many other initiatives under the good governance strategy of the provincial government. He added that the incumbent provincial government has worked beyond its capacity for the welfare of the public and never compromised on its manifesto regarding investment in human development despite multiple challenges. Mahmood Khan said that public confidence in the governance strategy of the provincial government has increased significantly.

It is pertinent to mention here that under the Sehat Card Plus scheme, free treatment facilities for various diseases are available to 9.6 million families of the province, which is a milestone achievement towards Imran Khan’s vision for the establishment of a welfare state. Since the roll out of the Sehat Card initiative, over 1.4 million people have availed free treatment facilities whereas expensive treatments like liver and kidney transplants have also been covered under the Sehat Card scheme to reduce the burden on families of patients. Moreover, free cochlear implants have also been introduced under which 127 children from different districts of the province will receive treatment. Rs. 1.8 million will be spent on each patient suffering from the said disease. In order to ensure provision of civic facilities to citizens at their doorstep, service delivery centres and citizen facilitation centres have been established where multiple services including issuance of Fard and domicile have been made online. Additionally, the incumbent provincial government is working on the rehabilitation and upgradation of existing schools alongside the establishment of new schools to provide uniform educational opportunities to people across the province. In addition to this, the government is also establishing model schools where students will be imparted both traditional and religious education.

The provincial government, for the first time in the history of the province, has started an honorarium for religious scholars and solarization of masajid. So far, 6500 masajids have been solarized while conversion of 9000 masajids to solar energy is in the pipeline.