PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday decided to hold a multi-party conference (MPC) next week to “formulate a joint strategy to ensure sustainable peace” in the province’s terrorism-hit areas.
The decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur and attended by cabinet members, additional chief secretaries, the senior member of the board of revenue, administrative secretaries and advocate general here, according to an official statement.
However, the event schedule was not announced.
Mr Gandapur told the meeting that the provincial government’s sincere efforts had led to the restoration of peace in Kurram tribal district.
Cabinet discusses proposed reforms to MPO law
“Peace in other areas, too, can be achieved through consultation with local jirgas and tribal elders,” he said.
The chief minister also spoke about the incidents of natural disasters across the country and said that such tragedies should not be politicised and reaffirmed that the KP government was always ready to assist other provinces in times of need.
The cabinet also discussed proposed reforms to the Maintenance of Public Order (3MPO) law and decided that their implementation would be subject to the approval of the home department to prevent misuse.
The chief minister said that the 3MPO was a law similar to the Frontier Crimes Regulation, which was often misused.
He also spoke about the recent natural disasters in the country and said such tragedies should not be politicised.
Mr Gandapur said his government was ready to assist other provinces whenever the need arose.
The cabinet also approved financial assistance of Rs5 million each for the families of KP residents who lost lives due to Indian aggression, while Rs10 million in compensation was approved for the family of Maulana Khanzeb, who was martyred in a terrorist attack, according to adviser to the chief minister on information and public relations Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif.
He said the cabinet approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agriculture Income Tax Rules, 2025, the KP Environmental Audit Rules, 2025, and the KP Environmental Protection (Sealing or Seizing) Rules, 2025.
Also, a committee was formed to discuss the proposed removal of the provision for death penalty from the KP Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 2019, and submit recommendations.
The cabinet approved a financial assistance of Rs48.1 million for the treatment of deserving residents Rozina, Anas Khan, Mohammad Aman and Mohammad Azlan, who suffer from acute medical conditions.
It also approved the handover of Dir Model School Dodba to authorities for the establishment of a campus of Khyber Medical University’s Institute of Health Sciences in Upper Dir district so that the current academic session can begin on the premises. It also approved land acquisition at a cost of Rs38.69 million through private negotiations for the supply of the Swat River surface water to Mingora via gravity flow.
The forum approved a cost enhancement from Rs318.5 million to Rs375.21 million for the project, Strengthening Health Management Information System/District Health Information System in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Phase-II).
It also approved a series of important administrative measures, including the appointment of members to the board of governors of the Paraplegic Centre, the posting and transfer of the managing director of the health foundation, and the appointment of five members to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Commission.
Under the provincial action plan, the cabinet approved the installation of RFID systems and machine-readable number plates on the already-profiled NCP vehicles in the province.
The aide to the chief minister said that the requests for relaxing the ban on procurement of vehicles for departments and buying more for some departments were placed before the cabinet, which decided that the required vehicles would be arranged through the excise department on a case-to-case basis.
Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2025
