CM-designate announces to convene KP Assembly on 29th
May 24, 2013
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister-designate Pervaiz Khattak announced the assembly would meet on May 29 as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s strength in the provincial legislature reached 41 with the joining of three more independents on Thursday. Speaking at a media briefing at the Officers Mess, Pervaiz Khattak rejected all the speculations about the working relations of PTI-led alliance in the province and said they would complete their five-year term smoothly. He said the PTI would form a government in the province based on the vision of Imran Khan to provide the people justice and ensure transparency in the government affairs.He said they had a major challenge ahead to face as the previous government had left a bunch of problems including lawlessness, corruption, poor governance and lack of transparency. Pervaiz Khattak said he had been in the politics for the last 30 years and knew the problems being faced by the province, adding only a strong government could resolve various issues. “And we are going to form a clean and transparent government in the province so that the vision of Imran Khan could be fulfilled and the promises he made with the nation honoured,” he added. The chief minister-designate said the independents were joining the PTI for its vision for a change, which included reforms in police system, steps against corruption, transparency in governance, strengthening of local bodies system, etc. He said three independents, Samiullah Alizai, Haji Qalandar Khan Lodhi and Mushtaq Ghani, joined the PTI while some others including Malik Qasim Khan Khattak will join in soon. To a question, he said that matters with the PTI allies Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) had been settled down and the alliance would run the government through its tenure. He also expressed the hope that they (allies) would be together even during the next elections. Responding to the Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Afrasiab Khattak’s assertions that the PTI’s decisions were made in Lahore, Pervaiz Khattak said he knew where ANP’s decisions were made. He said Imran Khan was their leader and all the time they would turn to him for guidance and they would continue the same in the future as well. To another question, he said they had planned to requisition the assembly session on 29th of this month and the process of electing speakers and leader of the house would take place within two or three days of the maiden session.Flanked by party leaders Asad Qaiser, Shaukat Yousafzai, and three new entrants, Pervaiz Khattak said theirs would be a provincial government wherein injustice would not be meted out to anyone. It would be an exemplary government, he said. Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Mushtaq Ghani said he was among the founders of the PTI in Hazara, but later he developed differences with the former leadership and left the party. “But today I am returning a provincial seat to my party,” he said. He announced that his wife Farzana Mushtaq was also joining the PTI. Qalandar Lodhi said that even during his campaign he had promised with his voters that he would join Imran Khan’s PTI for the change it promised.Samiullah Alizai and Asad Qaiser also spoke briefly on the occasion.