PESHAWAR: Provincial cabinet of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has approved additional funding of Rs5,333.50 million for the development scheme titled “Establishment of District Setup of Counter Terrorism Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Construction of Peshawar Regional CTD Headquarters” through inter-sectoral re-appropriation, by relaxing the prescribed timelines under the release policy for the current financial year 2026-27.
The initiative was aimed at further strengthening the Counter Terrorism Department’s counter-terrorism operations, intelligence capabilities and specialised facilities across the province, according to provincial minister for information Shafi Jan.
The minister furthermore said the provincial government had already approved the establishment of district-level CTD setups across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the construction of the Peshawar Regional CTD Headquarters, at a total estimated cost of Rs. 6,591.640 million.
Regarding sanitation and cleanliness initiatives, the Information Minister said that, in view of the progress of the programme and its wide acknowledgement by local communities, coupled with strong public demand for its continuation, the Cabinet approved the extension of the Rural Areas (Village Councils) Cleanliness Programme at a cost of Rs. 7,660.590 million.
The minister said the cabinet also approved forwarding to the Federal Government Joint Resolution No. 283, adopted by the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Shafi Jan said the resolution strongly condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the extremely unfortunate, condemnable and alarming incident involving Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Leader of the House, Muhammad Sohail Khan Afridi, during which the Chief Minister was allegedly forcibly taken away by Punjab Police in a police vehicle, separated from his security personnel and subsequently dropped on the roadside without security during visit in Punjab.
The Minister said the cabinet approved the distribution policy for reserved seats in medical and dental colleges for candidates from the Merged Districts in various institutions across the country for the academic session 2026-27.
He said the cabinet also approved the equitable division of the 42 reserved seats for South Waziristan, with 21 seats each allocated to Upper and Lower South Waziristan.
Shafi Jan added that the Chief Minister had further directed that 10 seats each for Upper and Lower South Waziristan be reserved in private medical and dental colleges, with the expenses to be borne by the provincial government until these seats are formally created by the quarters concerned.
The cabinet, he said, also approved financial assistance for the medical treatment of 81 needy patients suffering from prolonged illnesses or complicated medical conditions.
Shafi Jan said that, in order to strengthen rehabilitation and social welfare services, the cabinet approved the transfer of 4 Kanal and 17 Marlas of land from the Auqaf Department to the Zakat, Ushr, Social Welfare, Special Education and Women Empowerment Department for construction of a Rehabilitation and Detoxification Centre for Drug Addicts at Tehsil Razzar, District Swabi.
Similarly, he said, the Cabinet approved the transfer of 25 Kanal of land from the Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Department to the Zakat, Ushr, Social Welfare, Special Education and Women Empowerment Department for establishment of the proposed Child Protection Unit and Social Welfare Complex at D.I. Khan.
Regarding sugar availability and pricing, the Minister said the Cabinet approved that the federal government should consider and allow the export of sugar only after commencement of the new crushing season, expected in mid-November, particularly when fresh production becomes available and sugar prices stabilise.
Shafi Jan further said that the Cabinet gave its concurrence for obtaining USD250 million financing from the World Bank (IDA) for the READY-KP Project, under the applicable World Bank financing terms.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026