In an interview with local media, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) finance minister-designate Sirajul Haq said that the restoring peace in KP was a major challenge but depended more on the military establishment and the federal government.
Haq, who was elected to the KP Assembly from PK-95 (Lower Dir-II) on a Jamaat-e-Islami ticket explained that before the 2008 elections, the Awami National Party had reached an agreement with the Taliban on the release of some of their prisoners in exchange for a peaceful election campaign. But the ANP reneged on its promise due to the military’s reluctance and thereafter suffered vengeance.
Agreement to bar women from polls
With regards to the agreement to ban women from voting in Lower Dir, Haq offered a different account. He claimed that the deal was proposed by the Pakistan People’s Party based on intelligence reports which suggested militants were planning to use female suicide bombers to attack polling stations on May 11.
Education and budget
Haq said that his first priority would be to reopen the schools destroyed by Taliban insurgents in the province and to launch a microfinance scheme for graduates. He remarked that provincial budget for the year 2013-14 would be bureaucratic budget because in his capacity as the new finance minister he would have little time to introduce significant changes to it.